Indigo to remove portraits of Alice Munro from stores; keep books on shelves
CTV
Canada's biggest bookseller will remove enlarged photos of Alice Munro from stores, but bookstores large and small say they plan to keep her published works on the shelves.
Canada's biggest bookseller will remove enlarged photos of Alice Munro from stores, but bookstores large and small say they plan to keep her published works on the shelves.
A spokeswoman for Indigo said the company supports Munro's daughter Andrea Skinner, who published an essay revealing that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather, and her mother did not act.
"Alice Munro's books are not in violation of our assortment policy, and we will continue to carry her books," Madison Downey said in an email. "Images of Alice Munro appear in some of our stores, and we have determined that it is appropriate for us to remove these."
Indigo's policy is to "carry all books in print" unless experts have declared that a book advocates for "eliminating an entire group in society," contains instructions for making weapons of mass destruction, or is child pornography.
Independent booksellers without such a clear-cut policy have also had to consider how to move forward.
Ian Elliott, owner of A Different Drummer Books in Burlington, Ont., said he was devastated by Skinner's article and briefly considered pulling Munro's books.
"It crossed my mind, I have to say, but I finally said, I'm not in the business of censoring anything here," said Elliott.
