Hope Nicholson, the writer of The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen and owner of Bedside Press – a publisher based in Winnipeg – has shuttered the company following her confession to sexual misconduct and the sexual assault of writer Tres Dean.

In December of 2018, Tres Dean wrote an article for HuffPost recounting his experience as a man coming to terms with his sexual assault, and the way in which sexual abuse is perceived by men. Although the perpetrator was left anonymous in Dean’s article, Hope Nicholson recently came forward and admitted that Dean’s “story is not mine, but it is largely accurate,” saying she “was rude. An idiot. A messy drunkard [and] a pest” that night, while stating that this did not excuse her conduct.

Following this, Nicholson announced she would be “closing Bedside Press, and be leaving the publishing industry.” Any current Bedside Press books will continue to be distributed for a short period until a new publisher can be found for them, and any books currently in production will be released under a new publisher.

This incident is one in a long string of sexual assault cases in the comics industry, following the allegations against Brian Wood and Jai Nitz. Recurring cases like this have raised questions in many industries around the prevention of sexual assault, and the pervasion of sexual misconduct in relation to the power inequalities common in our employment culture.

Those struggling with assault, sexual abuse or domestic violence can visit the RAINN National Sexual Assault Online Hotline, The National Domestic Violence Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.