Barnes & Noble pulls controversial 'Diverse Editions' campaign after backlash against 'tone-deaf' redesigned book covers

Courtesy of Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble is pulling its "Diverse Editions" campaign.

• Barnes & Noble announced it would pull its controversial Diverse Editions campaign, a Black History Month initiative in partnership with Penguin Random House, following significant social media backlash to the effort.
• The campaign included the release of classic novels featuring images of ethnically diverse protagonists on a redesigned cover.
• "The covers are not a substitute for black voices or writers of color, whose work and voices deserve to be heard," Barnes & Noble wrote in a statement shared on Twitter.
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Barnes & Noble announced it would pull a controversial campaign that redesigned the covers of classic novels with images of ethnically diverse protagonists on the cover.

The effort, titled "Diverse Editions," was announced on Monday as part of a Black History Month partnership with Penguin Random House. Barnes & Noble would sell the reimagined books at its Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York City. Featured books included "Frankenstein," "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," and "Romeo and Juliet," among others.

In a statement shared on Twitter, Barnes & Noble said it "decided to suspend the initiative" and cancel an event planned for its Fifth Avenue store on Wednesday night.

"We acknowledge the voices who have expressed concerns about the Diverse Editions project at our Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store and have decided to suspend the initiatives," the statement reads. "Diverse Editions presented new covers of classic books through a series of limited-edition jackets, designed by artists hailing from different ethnicities and backgrounds."

The response continues: "The covers are not a substitute for black voices or writers of color, whose work and voices deserve to be heard."

Backlash over the effort started on Tuesday, when several writers of color and prominent figures took to Twitter to raise concerns over the effort.

Qasim Rashid, a candidate for US Congress in Virginia, posted an image of Barnes & Noble's leadership team, writing "whenever a Corp does something so racially tone deaf - first thing I do is look at their Exec Board."

Here's a look at some of the pulled covers:

Us: Hey, it'd be great if you could publish writers of color-
Publishing industry: Black Frankenstein https://t.co/QF3iWmfvBK

- Brit Bennett (@britrbennett) February 5, 2020

Jeanine Cummins: I would like to give a face to the faceless

Barnes & Noble: hold my beer https://t.co/hzGmcS1kHi

- Arvin Ahmadi (@arvinahmadi) February 5, 2020

Barnes & Noble was like, well if Netflix can change the thumbnail to show the Black extra in the background of a show they want you to watch...

- Bethany C. Morrow (@BCMorrow) February 5, 2020

So rather than promote-you know-actual diverse authors for #BlackHistoryMonth, Barnes & Noble chose to re-imagine books by white authors w/Black face & Brown face characters��

Whenever a Corp does something so racially tone deaf-first thing I do is look at their Exec Board

Welp pic.twitter.com/u08OlHlc5c

- Qasim Rashid for Congress (@QasimRashid) February 5, 2020