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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Sammy Gecsoyler

‘Times change’: what authors think about rewriting older books

Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson said it was sometimes justified to edit language in children’s books. Photograph: David Levenson/Getty Images

The publishing industry has been mired in debate in recent years about editing older books to remove content that could be deemed offensive.

Even the prime minister became involved in February after the publisher Puffin Books hired sensitivity readers to rewrite parts of Roald Dahl’s books to ensure they “can continue to be enjoyed by all today”. The development prompted Rishi Sunak to say that publishers “shouldn’t gobblefunk around with words”.

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