Outrage Group Criticizes Baen Books for Releasing “an Anthology by People Named David” Due to Lack of Diversity

Outrage Group Criticizes Baen Books for Releasing “an Anthology by People Named David” Due to Lack of Diversity

Science-fiction and fantasy publisher Baen Books became the target of a peculiar outrage mob that criticized the publisher for publishing a sci-fi anthology humorously featuring the works of authors named ‘David’ on the grounds that the anthology was not diverse enough.

On October 16th, Baen Books announced The Chronicles of Davids, “an anthology by people named David” which promised to feature “Maximum Dave” and assured readers that “with a name like “David,” it has to be good!”:

The history of science fiction and fantasy is littered with stories by Davids of distinction. Now, for the first time, an anthology by people named David, for everyone. Get THE CHRONICLES OF DAVID today!https://t.co/bCIiXNnNck — Baen Books (@BaenBooks) October 16, 2019

Baen Books Gets Mobbed

In a bizarre turn of events, Baen Books was soon descended upon by a handful of social justice-focused users who criticized the anthology for its lack of diversity:

this is a joke right — Du-boo-us (@DubiousCA) October 17, 2019

cool but also consider how many times marginalized authors are underrepresented in anthologies and how often [Mostly White Dudes Named David] have ever felt lacking in media representation, in their entire lives… seems like a real weird priority — Du-boo-us (@DubiousCA) October 18, 2019

Is a gimmick like this supposed to impress anyone? How about an anthology with some kind of diversity… — JFT votes against bigots and fascists (@BloodSpeaker) October 17, 2019

the diversity of it all — live, love, lava (@GuusHenkBremer) October 17, 2019

i do care who the author is because most professional writers in the west are cishet white men and a book purely about writers called dave plays right into that stranglehold. — live, love, lava (@GuusHenkBremer) October 18, 2019

In the midst of the outrage, Baen Books Assistant Editor Christopher Ruocchio stepped in to defend the publication against its detractors, asking if “you only crawl out of your pits when you have something negative to say?”:

Judas Priest. Where the hell were all of you when we printed WOMEN OF FUTURES PAST? Or do you only crawl out of your pits when you have something negative to say? — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

"But those women writers are dead! What about alive ones?" 1. Hold the football still, Lucy.

2. The point of the book was to highlight women writers who are overlooked today and to celebrate the fact that women have always been a part of the field. — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

3. A couple of the Davids are dead, too.

4. One single anthology cannot be all things for all people. Perhaps pitch your own. — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

Ruocchio Tells His Critics Where to Go

Ruocchio expanded on his criticisms in a separate thread, stating that The Chronicles of David is “just a cute little anthology” before ultimately telling his critics to “get a f–king grip.”:

Alas, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. I have returned because a bunch of moblins appeared on this Baen Books post today, mad that we published an anthology composed of writers named David. Really. That's what they're mad about. https://t.co/eguGHPLUZZ — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

I joked to my boss that we had enough Davids to fill a book–and she did it. Written by Davids (and one Barry), edited by a David, and with cover art by a David. It's just supposed to be a silly, kitschy little collection of stories. Is it dumb? Hella. Sexist? Nope. — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

And that's the contention. That the book isn't "diverse" (although apparently all women IS "diverse," so I'm not sure if people really know what the word means at all…but I digress). — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

It's just a cute little anthology! That's what we do! I'm editing one now called OVERRULED that has a slug alien in a barrister's wig threatening a robot lawyer with its gavel. This one has a green tentacled Goliath fighting sci-fi David on the cover. It's just kitsch! — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

It's not the emanation of some incipient chauvanist conspiracy. It's a book about robots and wizards written by some dudes named Dave. Get a fucking grip. — Sir Christopher Ruocchio (@TheRuocchio) October 17, 2019

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