Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Fonda Lee Decries Barnes & Noble Stocking J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan Books: We are Competing with “Dead Guys”

Science Fiction and Fantasy Author Fonda Lee Decries Barnes & Noble Stocking J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan Books: We are Competing with “Dead Guys”

Science Fiction and Fantasy author Fonda Lee, the writer of the Green Bone Saga, decried Barnes & Noble for stocking popular fantasy authors J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan.

For those unfamiliar with J.R.R. Tokien, where have you been living? Tolkien is the writer behind the Hobbit and theLord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings has sold over 150 million copies since it was first published in the mid 1950s. Robert Jordan is the man behind the popular Wheel of Time series. Jordan’s Wheel of Time series had reportedly sold over 44 million copies by 2007 when Jordan passed away. Brandon Sanderson would complete final three books in the 14-book series based off Jordan’s notes.

Lee would write on Twitter, “This is what modern fantasy writers are up against. In my local B&N, most authors are lucky to find a copy of their book, super lucky if its face out. There are 3.5 shelves for Tolkien. 1.5 for Jordan. Here’s who we compete against for shelf space: not each other, but dead guys.”

This is what modern fantasy writers are up against. In my local B&N, most authors are lucky to find a copy of their book, super lucky if it’s face out. There are 3.5 shelves for Tolkien. 1.5 for Jordan. Here’s who we compete against for shelf space: not each other, but dead guys. pic.twitter.com/fLUagKPIUX — Fonda Lee (@FondaJLee) March 9, 2019

If you actually look at the photo provided by Lee, you will see that Tolkien’s books only take up approximately two and a half shelves, not the three and half she asserts. There also appears to be a wide array of Tolkien’s works on the shelves and it’s not just limited to the Lord of the Rings series.

As for Jordan’s Wheel of Time series it appears to only take up a shelf and a half, but if you count the actual books, there’s only 29. As I mentioned previously there’s 14 books in the Wheel of Time series. That means there’s only around two copies for each book.

Lee would continue to lament that these highly successful and popular books were taking up so much space at Barnes & Noble.

Before you @ me about the importance of classics, I love LOTR too, okay? But 3.5 shelves?? So much great modern SFF work out there. I found one copy of my WFA-winning book. One of most of the other Nebula and Hugo nominees. One copy of The Fifth Season. 18 copies of LOTR. — Fonda Lee (@FondaJLee) March 9, 2019

Fonda then explains the business that Barnes & Noble is in. She describes it as as “a place of discovery.”

If you think a bookstore should be a place of discovery, who goes into B&N and “discovers” Tolkien? Do they figure people want another 5 copies of LOTR and aren’t interested in all the other work out there? I dunno guys. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to go into bookstores, tbh. — Fonda Lee (@FondaJLee) March 9, 2019

She then calls for support of “local indie bookstores.”

(And reminder that this is another reason why I love my local indie bookstores and why we must, must, MUST for the love of God keep supporting them.) — Fonda Lee (@FondaJLee) March 9, 2019

Lee isn’t the first person to criticize Tolkien. Last November, another science-fiction author Andy Duncan decried Tolkien’s famous Lord of the Rings claiming it promoted racism because of the way it portrayed the orcs.

What do you make of Fonda Lee’s criticism of Barnes & Noble and her thoughts on J.R.R. Tolkien and Robert Jordan?

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