Jim Crow Publishing

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, a heated discussion is raging about racism in publishing.

Some African American authors are being marketed solely as African American authors, and they're shelved in the African American section of bookstores, even though their books have absolutely nothing to do with African Americans.

In other words, a black author writes a sci-fi novel, or a romance, or literary fiction, and it's automatically catagorized as African American even if it doesn't contain a single black character.

Is this fair? Is it racist?

I encourage the folks already blogging about this topic to post their views here.

I also encourage the regular readers of this blog to visit http://bestsellingauthor.blogspot.com and weigh in on the conversation.

And finally, I encourage folks to post their views about this topic on their own blogs.

Why should you bother? Especially if you aren't African American?

Don't you remember that old adage?

When the Nazis came for the Gypsies, I did not speak out because I was not a Gypsy.

When the Nazis came for the homosexuals, I did not speak out because I was not a homosexual.

When the Nazis came for the Jews, I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

When the Nazis came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me...