{{Short description|Editor who identifies potentially offensive content}} {{use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} A '''sensitivity reader''' is someone hired to look for offensive content, stereotypes, and bias in a literary work, and to create a report for an author or publisher with suggested changes.<ref name="atlanta">{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |first=<!--Not stated--> |date=13 January 2022 |title=Writing, Editing, and Publishing Indigenous Stories |url=https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/c.php?g=708820&p=5049650 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219234228/https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/c.php?g=708820&p=5049650 |archive-date=19 February 2022 |access-date=19 February 2023 |publisher=University of Alberta |language=en |publication-place=Edmonton, Alberta, Canada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hucal |first=Sarah |date=23 February 2023 |title=Roald Dahl's works and the role of sensitivity readers |language=en |work=DW News |publisher=Deutsche Welle |publication-place=Berlin, Germany |url=https://www.dw.com/en/roald-dahls-works-and-the-role-of-sensitivity-readers/a-64796277 |url-status=live |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327041214/https://www.dw.com/en/roald-dahls-works-and-the-role-of-sensitivity-readers/a-64796277 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |quote=In short, sensitivity readers are hired by publishing houses to read for offensive content, misrepresentation, stereotypes, bias and lack of understanding of minority groups.}}</ref> The use of sensitivity readers has attracted criticism from some authors and members of the public, particularly with respect to the practice of re-editing works that were published in the past.
== Purpose == Proponents state "the literary quality of a work is substantially improved" when reviewed and copy-edited by others from "a specific Nation or community that the author is writing about".<ref name="atlanta" /> Helen Wicks, managing director for children's trade at Bonnier, describes the practice as playing "an important role in inclusive, forward-thinking publishing".<ref name="bookseller">{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Not stated--> |first=<!--Not stated--> |date=20 June 2022 |title=Publishers defend sensitivity readers as vital tool following author criticism |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/publishers-defend-sensitivity-readers-as-vital-tool-following-author-criticism |url-status=live |magazine=The Bookseller |language=en |publisher=The Stage Media Company |publication-place=London, England |issn=0006-7539 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220627212742/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/publishers-defend-sensitivity-readers-as-vital-tool-following-author-criticism |archive-date=27 June 2022 |access-date=19 February 2023 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
== US young adult fiction == From 2015, sensitivity readings became popular and influential in young adult fiction, partly in response to the movement for diversity in that genre.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alter |first1=Alexandra |title=In an Era of Online Outrage, Do Sensitivity Readers Result in Better Books, or Censorship? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/books/in-an-era-of-online-outrage-do-sensitivity-readers-result-in-better-books-or-censorship.html |access-date=19 December 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=24 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Benedictus |first1=Leo |title=Torn apart: the vicious war over young adult books |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/15/torn-apart-the-vicious-war-over-young-adult-books |access-date=19 December 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=15 June 2019}}</ref> Sensitivity readers were brought in after pre-publication controversies for authors including Laura Moriarty (whose ''American Heart'' had its prestigious ''Kirkus Reviews'' star removed prior to publication in 2017)<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Heller |first1=Nathan |title=Kirkus Reviews and the Plight of the "Problematic" Book Review |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/kirkus-reviews-plight-of-the-problematic-book-review |access-date=19 December 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=23 October 2017}}</ref> and Amélie Wen Zhao (''Blood Heir'').<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alter |first1=Alexandra |title=She Pulled Her Debut Book When Critics Found It Racist. Now She Plans to Publish. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/books/amelie-wen-zhao-blood-heir.html |access-date=28 December 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=29 April 2019}}</ref> Kosoko Jackson, a sensitivity reader himself, withdrew his own novel ''A Place for Wolves'' over sensitivity concerns in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Senior |first1=Jennifer |title=Opinion {{!}} Teen Fiction and the Perils of Cancel Culture |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/opinion/teen-fiction-and-the-perils-of-cancel-culture.html |access-date=19 December 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=8 March 2019}}</ref>
== Revisions of published works == Publishers have used sensitivity readers to flag content perceived as offensive in published works, such as outdated attitudes towards race or gender. In 2010, Hodder Children's Books published "contemporary" versions of Enid Blyton's ''Famous Five'' books which they described as having been "sensitively and carefully" revised to rephrase some outdated language, intending to make the works "timeless". This included replacing words whose meanings had changed (such as ''gay'' and ''queer''), as well as updating obsolete terms (such as ''housemistress'' and ''school tunic'') and removing terms like ''tinker'' which could read be more pejoratively than Blyton would have intended.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flood |first1=Alison |title=Enid Blyton's Famous Five get 21st-century makeover |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jul/23/enid-blyton-famous-five-makeover |access-date=29 June 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=23 July 2010}}</ref> The editions were withdrawn in 2016, after feedback from readers suggested that the editions were "not required".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cain |first1=Sian |title=Famous Five go back to original language after update flops |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/16/famous-five-go-back-to-original-language-after-update-flops |access-date=29 June 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=16 September 2016}}</ref> In 2023 the publisher said that it would be removing "inappropriate or offensive" terms but retaining old-fashioned terms as part of the series' setting.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chung |first=Frank |date=14 March 2023 |title='Ongoing process': Enid Blyton's ''Famous Five'' books edited to remove 'offensive' words |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/enid-blytons-famous-five-books-edited-to-remove-offensive-words/news-story/47a63bb79a5d870f19aed58b19469bb5 |work=news.com.au |publisher=Nationwide News |location= |access-date=29 June 2025 |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327220333/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/enid-blytons-famous-five-books-edited-to-remove-offensive-words/news-story/47a63bb79a5d870f19aed58b19469bb5 |url-status=live }}</ref>
As part of an ebook range in 2018, publisher Scholastic made edits to the 1990s children's book series ''Goosebumps'', "to keep the language current and avoid imagery that could negatively impact a young person’s view of themselves today, with a particular focus on mental health". The author R. L. Stine said that the changes had not been shown to him.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tinoco |first1=Armando |title=Author R.L. Stine Responds To Reports 'Goosebumps' Is Getting Edited With Inclusive Language – Update |url=https://deadline.com/2023/03/goosebumps-author-rl-stine-edits-book-series-changes-mental-health-weight-ethnicity-references-1235279014/ |access-date=24 April 2025 |work=Deadline |date=5 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Goosebumps author adapts texts to remove weight, mental health and ethnicity references |url=https://news.sky.com/story/goosebumps-author-adapts-texts-to-remove-weight-mental-health-and-ethnicity-references-12825150 |access-date=24 April 2025 |work=Sky News |date=4 March 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
Some digital editions of novels by Agatha Christie were altered from 2020 onwards to remove references to ethnicity, such as an "Indian temper" or a female character's body "of black marble".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simpson |first=Craig |date=25 March 2023 |title=Agatha Christie classics latest to be rewritten for modern sensitivities |language=en |work=The Daily Telegraph |publication-place=London, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/25/agatha-christie-classics-latest-rewritten-modern-sensitivities/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327154858/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/25/agatha-christie-classics-latest-rewritten-modern-sensitivities/ |archive-date=27 March 2023 |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Nugent |first=Annabel |date=26 March 2023 |title=Agatha Christie books, including Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries, to be rewritten for modern sensitivities |language=en |work=The Independent |publication-place=Longon, England |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/agatha-christie-books-rewritten-b2308195.html |url-status=live |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327040914/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/agatha-christie-books-rewritten-b2308195.html |archive-date=27 March 2023 |issn=1741-9743 |oclc=185201487}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hall |first=Rachel |date=26 March 2023 |title=Agatha Christie novels reworked to remove potentially offensive language |language=en |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/26/agatha-christie-novels-reworked-to-remove-potentially-offensive-language |url-status=live |access-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327170108/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/26/agatha-christie-novels-reworked-to-remove-potentially-offensive-language |archive-date=27 March 2023 |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878}}</ref> In 1940, the title of her novel ''Ten Little Niggers'' had been changed to ''And Then There Were None'' for the American market, with changes also being made to remove the term from the text, including the name of the island where the story takes place.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Light |first1=Alison |title=Forever England: Femininity, Literature and Conservatism Between the Wars |date=21 August 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-62984-7 |page=243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tU2AAAAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2023, Ian Fleming's ''James Bond'' series was re-published with a number of racial slurs and references removed.<ref name="Telegraph-2023">{{Cite news |last=Simpson |first=Craig |date=25 February 2023 |title=James Bond books edited to remove racist references |language=en |work=The Daily Telegraph |publication-place=London, England |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/25/james-bond-books-edited-remove-racist-references/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228223448/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/02/25/james-bond-books-edited-remove-racist-references/ |archive-date=28 February 2023 |issn=0307-1235 |oclc=49632006 |quote=Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, the company that owns the literary rights to the author's work, commissioned a review by sensitivity readers of the classic texts under its control.}}</ref> A disclaimer in each book stated, "This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haring |first=Bruce |date=26 February 2023 |title=James Bond Books Edited To Avoid Offense To Modern Audiences – Report |url=https://deadline.com/2023/02/james-bond-books-rewritten-to-avoid-offense-to-modern-audiences-1235271892/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228050958/https://deadline.com/2023/02/james-bond-books-rewritten-to-avoid-offense-to-modern-audiences-1235271892/ |archive-date=28 February 2023 |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=Deadline |publisher=Penske Media Corporation |language=en |publication-place=USA}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph-2023" /> Charlie Higson, actor, comedian and author of the first five ''Young Bond'' novels, defended the alterations, saying that sensitivity reading was "nothing new", citing the example of Christie's ''And Then There Were None''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Knight |first=Lucy |date=2023-03-15 |title=Sensitivity readers: what publishing's most polarising role is really about |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/15/sensitivity-readers-what-publishings-most-polarising-role-is-really-about |access-date=2024-02-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
That same month, new editions of Roald Dahl's children's novels published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin Books, changed some of Dahl's language in line with recommendations by sensitivity readers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kirka |first=Danica |date=2023-02-19 |title=Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship |url=https://apnews.com/article/books-and-literature-roald-dahl-business-entertainment-91c9bb1a7a10392abeef6feec3159e8b |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ellery |first=Ben |date=25 February 2023 |title=Inside the group of 'inclusion ambassadors' behind Roald Dahl edits |language=en |work=The Times |publication-place=London, England |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/8243434c-b470-11ed-abc9-a9456bea4494?shareToken=199d5626dd18ed8ea26b029d24c4e6dc |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230304034514/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/8243434c-b470-11ed-abc9-a9456bea4494 |archive-date=4 March 2023 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> The decision was met with criticism from groups and public figures including the CEO of PEN America, Salman Rushdie, Brian Cox, Rishi Sunak, and Kemi Badenoch, as well as ''Fantastic Mr. Fox'' director Wes Anderson.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khama I |first=Nadia |date=September 1, 2023 |title=Roald Dahl's works shouldn't be edited, says Wes Anderson |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/01/roald-dahl-works-edited-wes-anderson |access-date=August 10, 2025 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Dellatto |first=Marisa |date=20 February 2023 |title=Roald Dahl Books Get New Edits—And Critics Cry Censorship: The Controversy Surrounding 'Charlie And The Chocolate Factory' And More |language=en |work=Forbes |publication-place=Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/20/roald-dahl-books-get-new-edits-and-critics-cry-censorship-the-controversy-surrounding-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-and-more/?sh=6833ef524534 |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228232244/https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2023/02/20/roald-dahl-books-get-new-edits-and-critics-cry-censorship-the-controversy-surrounding-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-and-more/?sh=61a3a45a4534 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |issn=0015-6914}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Zymeri |first=Jeff |date=21 February 2023 |title=Salman Rushdie Blasts 'Absurd' Censorship of Roald Dahl |language=en |work=National Review |publisher=National Review, Inc. |publication-place=New York City, NY, USA |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/the-dahl-estate-should-be-ashamed-salman-rushdie-blasts-absurd-censorship-of-roald-dahl |url-status=live |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221153943/https://www.nationalreview.com/news/the-dahl-estate-should-be-ashamed-salman-rushdie-blasts-absurd-censorship-of-roald-dahl |archive-date=21 February 2023 |issn=0028-0038}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Honeycombe-Foster |first1=Matt |last2=Blanchard |first2=Jack |date=21 February 2023 |title=UK's Badenoch slams 'problematic' rewrites of classic Roald Dahl books |language=en |work=Politico |publisher=Axel Springer SE |publication-place=Arlington County, Virginia, USA |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/uks-badenoch-slams-problematic-rewrites-classic-roald-dahl-books-business-secretary-equalities-minister-salmon-rushdie-brian-cox |url-status=live |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228164049/https://www.politico.eu/article/uks-badenoch-slams-problematic-rewrites-classic-roald-dahl-books-business-secretary-equalities-minister-salmon-rushdie-brian-cox |archive-date=28 February 2023}}</ref> Consequently, Puffin announced that it would also continue to sell the original, unaltered editions of Roald Dahl's children's novels, under the title ''The Roald Dahl Classic Collection''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Abramovitch |first=Seth |date=24 February 2023 |title=Roald Dahl Publisher Bends to Controversy, Will Release "Classic" Version of Controversial Kids' Books |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/roald-dahl-controversy-changes-salman-rushdie-willy-wonka-1235333536 |url-status=live |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en |publisher=Eldridge Industries |publication-place=Los Angeles, California, USA |issn=0018-3660 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228045145/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/roald-dahl-controversy-changes-salman-rushdie-willy-wonka-1235333536 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |access-date=27 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Not stated--> |first=<!--Not stated--> |date=19 February 2023 |title=Roald Dahl rewrites: edited language in books criticised as 'absurd censorship' |language=en |work=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |publication-place=London, England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/20/roald-dahl-books-rewrites-criticism-language-altered |url-status=live |access-date=27 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228164448/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/20/roald-dahl-books-rewrites-criticism-language-altered |archive-date=28 February 2023 |issn=1756-3224 |oclc=60623878}}</ref> On 26 February 2023, 7 days after the original announcement by Puffin Books, Ian Fleming Publications announced that Ian Fleming's ''James Bond'' series would receive several revisions, including removing racial slurs and a racist depiction of African Americans in ''Live and Let Die'', following a review from sensitivity reviewers.<ref name="TheIndependentBond">{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/james-bond-ian-fleming-books-rewritten-b2289747.html |title=James Bond books rewritten to remove 'offensive' references |date=26 February 2023 |last=Atkinson |first=Emily |work=The Independent |access-date=5 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301205836/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/james-bond-ian-fleming-books-rewritten-b2289747.html |archive-date=1 March 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Penguin Books' 2023 reedition of P.{{nbsp}}G.{{nbsp}}Wodehouse's 1934 novel ''Thank You, Jeeves'' included a disclaimer that the publisher had "sought to edit, minimally, words that we regard as unacceptable to present-day readers". This included the removal of racial slurs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Simpson |first1=Craig |date=15 April 2023 |title=Jeeves and Wooster stories censored to avoid offending modern readers |publisher=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/15/jeeves-and-wooster-censored-penguins-latest-sensitivity/ |access-date=16 April 2023}}</ref>
== Criticism == Following the controversy{{clarify|date=April 2025}} over the book ''American Dirt'' in 2020, the use of sensitivity readers was questioned.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Urwin |first1=Rosamund |title=Is the rise of sensitivity readers progress or censorship? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/is-the-rise-of-sensitivity-readers-progress-or-censorship-9zxwm2pkc |access-date=28 December 2023 |date=28 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Lionel Shriver accused sensitivity readers of being censorious, of being "new moral gatekeepers" or of offering a way to "cancel-proof your book".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shriver |first1=Lionel |title=What if 'sensitivity readers' came for my novels? |url=https://www.spiked-online.com/2023/02/25/what-if-sensitivity-readers-came-for-my-novels/ |access-date=28 December 2023 |work=Spiked-online.com |date=Feb 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dubno |first=Zoe |date=10 July 2021 |title=The rise of the 'sensitivity reader' |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-rise-of-the-sensitivity-reader/ |url-status=live |magazine=The Spectator |language=en |publisher=Press Holdings |publication-place=London, England |issn=0038-6952 |oclc=1766325 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216202534/https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-rise-of-the-sensitivity-reader/ |archive-date=16 February 2023 |access-date=19 February 2023 |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Rosenfield |first=Kat |date=August 2022 |title=Sensitivity Readers Are the New Literary Gatekeepers |url=https://reason.com/2022/07/05/rise-of-the-sensitivity-reader/ |url-status=live |magazine=Reason |language=en |publisher=Reason Foundation |publication-place=Los Angeles, California, USA |issue=August/September 2022 |oclc=818916200 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222190900/https://reason.com/2022/07/05/rise-of-the-sensitivity-reader/ |archive-date=22 February 2023 |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref>
Kate Clanchy wrote an essay in 2022 expressing her concerns that her sensitivity readers seemed "to concur that the past should match an idealised present", and to imply that writing "should represent the world as it ought to be, not as it is". Clanchy believed that the readers did not recognise irony and satire and wished "to eliminate journeys of thought across chapters, ambiguity from paragraphs, and nuance from sentences".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clanchy |first=Kate |date=2022-02-18 |title=How sensitivity readers corrupt literature |url=https://unherd.com/2022/02/how-sensitivity-readers-corrupted-literature/ |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=UnHerd |language=en-GB}}</ref>
Writer Anthony Horowitz wrote in 2023 that it felt "wrong to be told what to write by an outside party, no matter how well-meaning", when he accepted suggested changes to descriptions of native American characters in one of his books.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Horowitz |first1=Anthony |title=My clash with 'sensitivity readers' |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-clash-with-sensitivity-readers/ |access-date=28 December 2023 |work=The Spectator |date=1 February 2023}}</ref>
==See also== * Cultural diversity * Expurgation (also known as bowdlerization) * Political correctness
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Editors by type Category:Book censorship