In “That Book is Dangerous!” Adam Szetela argues that the industry has become Orwellian

Adam Szetela depicts a publishing world beset by vicious pile-ons in response to transgressions and abject apologies.

«El culturista anticapitalista» de Adam Szetela - La Soga | Revista Cultural

In "That Book Is Dangerous," Adam Szetela examines how cultural pressure tries to control what books authors can write and readers can read.

In this narrated essay, author and Harvard fellow Adam Szetela reads from his book That Book Is Dangerous! How Moral Panic, Social Media, and the Culture Wars Are Remaking Publishing (MIT Press). Szetela explores how trigger warnings, sensitivity readers, and campus censorship have reshaped creative writing—producing fiction that is safe, shallow, and stripped of emotional truth. Drawing on examples from Toni Morrison to Nabokov, he argues that literary culture has become a “pseudo-therapeutic” space where fear of offence overrides artistic ambition. 📖 Topics covered: Why MFA programs reward moral conformity over creativity How “safe spaces” and “trigger warnings” infantilise writers Why modern publishing rejects books like Lolita What we lose when literature stops taking risks 🎙️ Narrated by Adam Szetela 📰 Read the full essay on Quillette: https://quillette.com ----- Quillette is an Australian-based online magazine that focuses on long-form analysis and cultural commentary. It is politically non-partisan, but relies on reason, science, and humanism as its guiding values. Quillette was founded in 2015 by Australian writer Claire Lehmann. It is a platform for free thought and a space for open discussion and debate on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, science, and technology. Quillette has gained attention for publishing articles and essays that challenge modern orthodoxy on a variety of topics, including gender and sexuality, race and identity politics, and free speech and censorship. --- Quillette's revenue comes from our readers. We are a grassroots organisation that relies on voluntary subscriptions and community membership as our primary revenue stream. Support Quillette by becoming a subscriber: https://quillette.com/#/portal/signup Or donate send us a one-off tip: https://quillette.com/#/portal/support We made our website using Ghost, a powerful app for new-media creators to publish, share, and grow a business around their content. It comes with modern tools to build a website, publish content, send newsletters & offer paid subscriptions to members. Try it here: https://ghost.org/?via=claire91

In “That Book is Dangerous!” Adam Szetela argues that the industry has become Orwellian