Simon & Schuster boss writes to authors alarmed by the rightwing author’s profile, assuring them that the firm will not tolerate abusive writing

In what is being seen as a damage limitation exercise, the publisher of rightwing controversialist Milo Yiannopoulos has written to authors to reassure them that his forthcoming book Dangerous will not contain hate speech.

Acknowledging the level of opposition to the title, Carolyn Reidy, Simon & Schuster president and CEO, told authors: “I want to make it clear that we do not support or condone, nor will we publish, hate speech. Not from our authors. Not in our books. Not at our imprints. Not from our employees and not in our workplace.”

In the letter leaked to Buzzfeed, Reidy added that Yiannopoulos, who was reported to have been paid $250,000 (£200,000) for the book, had assured editors at S&S imprint Threshold Editions that the book would be “a substantive examination” of the issues surrounding political correctness and free speech.

S&S confirmed to the Guardian that the letter had been sent out to authors, but declined to comment further.

Reidy’s letter came in the wake of a vociferous backlash against publication from authors, critics, celebrities and booksellers. After news in December that the Breitbart technology editor and figurehead for the “alt-right” had won a six-figure publishing deal, pressure grew to boycott all Simon & Schuster subsidiaries in the US.

In the letter, Reidy appeared to distance Threshold Editions’ decision to take on Yiannopoulos from rest of the company. Adding that the imprint was “editorially independent”, she wrote: “Its acquisitions are made without the involvement or knowledge of our other publishers.”

Threshold, which publishes conservative and rightwing titles, had believed that “an articulate discussion of these issues, coming from an unconventional source like Mr Yiannopoulos, could become an incisive commentary on today’s social discourse that would sit well within its scope and mission”.

Despite the editorial independence of the imprint, Reidy implied that Yiannopoulos’s prose will also be overseen from the top of the company, writing that S&S would “work hard” with Yiannopoulos to ensure it adhered to the company’s standards.

The decision to award the British-born journalist a lucrative book contract was severely criticised by actor and comedian Leslie Jones, whose bullying by Yiannopoulos fans led to the controversialist’s permanent exclusion from the social media site in 2016.

Writing in the Guardian, Adam Morgan, editor of the Chicago Review of Books, said his publication would not review any books published by S&S in protest at the deal. Accusing Yiannopoulos of being “a clickbait grifter who has made a name for himself spewing hate speech”, Morgan said: “As the editor-in-chief of a small literary review, I wanted Simon & Schuster to know that broadcasting his rhetoric would have real-world consequences.”

Some US booksellers have said they will not stock the book, which has reached No 1 in the Amazon censorship and politics chart, despite not being released until March. British publishers also shied away from the book after the UK division of S&S confirmed it would not publish it. Earlier this month, insiders at other UK publishers told the Guardian that they regarded the book as “toxic” and would not pursue it.

“A lot of semi-toxic books do go to large publishers, but I wouldn’t touch this if it was offered to me and don’t think anyone else will,” one senior editor said.

The lack of a platform in the UK for the provocateur was also said to hamper his chances of striking a deal outside the US. “We have a history of publishing toxic books here that have done well, but this won’t be one of them. He’s just not that well known,” said the publishing director of one of the biggest houses.