these authors are problematic
a list of problematic authors that you should boycott
created by leena_reads
last updated November, 2025
Comments
For lists like this it would be great to have some info on each author in the comments, with sources where possible. I know it would be a lot of work, but when encouraging boycotts it's always good to cite some credible sources and inform everybody of the facts! 📝♡
Ohhh good idea for a list. Many authors I don't know, some are on my TBR so now I know to look into them. Might I suggest adding Neil Gaiman fo the list?
Came here to upvote and support as my list is getting spam downvoted, thanks for making this list!
ugh some people are miserable
Followed and up voted + shared
Went and upvoted your list, sorry people suck sometimes.
Curious about Brigitte Knightley and Julie Soto, why are they problematic? (genuinely asking, not questioning your decision to add them!) I would also say that Neil Gaiman is problematic as well. Thanks for making this list
Yes, I also have the same question. I would like to know the reason as well
It’s because Julie Soto made, I think, her Hermione and Draco retelling with Rose and Chains or something like that, and she was using Harry Potter as a promotion in one of her posters to promote her new book coming out.I’m not sure if it’s still up on her Instagram. I’m sure somebody has a screenshot on Threads or on TikTok, but her doing that brings more eyes back onto Harry Potter, which then new people who haven’t read Harry Potter can then go ahead and read and support J. K. Rowling, who is a very problematic author. Then the whole vicious cycle just continues of these books, getting out there and problematic authors, financially gaining. If that makes sense, there’s even been people on TikTok promoting Rose and Chains, and people in the comments saying that they want to read or re-read the Harry Potters books bc of her book. Hope that makes sense. If you look at some TikToks, I’m sure someone would explain it better.
I understand J.K. Rowling for sure, but it feels unfair to me to judge works inspired by the Harry Potter universe as a whole (Soto, Knightley, SenLinYu). Like is it fair to judge authors for being inspired by something? The story of HP isn’t the problematic part; the woman who wrote it is. And it feels unfair to hold these authors accountable for Rowling’s hate, if they haven’t expressed anything similar. Maybe I see the connection with the HP marketing plug, but to my knowledge SenLinYu’s Alchemised distanced itself from the HP universe with the publication of the book. (I picked it up without ever knowing it was originally fanfiction. It has nothing to do with HP at all anymore.)
I don’t think we can say fan fiction is inherently an endorsement of Rowling or promoting her work. Since those spaces do exist in part to alter the universe for various reasons. But I do understand this gets complicated and is a gray space.
The explanation for why to avoid things like fanfiction I see the most is that they keep the primary work relevant. As long as folks are rewriting/reclaiming HP people will continue to seek out HP to see why it was important enough to rewrite/reclaim. Willingly or not, it keeps Rowling relevant, keeps attention focused on her, and thus will unfortunately continue to send money her way.
That makes sense. Thanks for that context. I just think this particular issue is not so black and white in terms of whether to read or not. So for me, I am okay supporting SenLinYu, for example, but I can respect anyone who feels differently. It's definitely complicated and unfortunate.
I agree with this. Also when was the fan fic written? If it was before we all found out jkr was problematic then I think it’s unfair. In alchemised there’s zero reference to HP. I don’t think it’s their fault they were once a fan of HP and did fan fiction. It was a huge deal back in the day. JKR isn’t making any money off of it.
Also, I feel like the majority of people don’t even know that it was HP fanfiction. I only found out recently because of PB
alchemised was actively promoted using HP, all the marketing materials referenced it and the author themself regularly posts HP fanart on their insta page. it was only picked up because it was a popular fanfic in a huge fandom—debut authors generally don’t get deals for 1k+ page books. any work that draws on a problematic author’s work and could direct people back to the extremely problematic source material is an issue. i’ve personally seen a huge number of people on here + fable + booksta rereading hp because of alchemised—and unless they’re ALL reading thrifted or already owned copies, that means jkr is making money off of it.
Also i haven’t seen any promotional media about alchemised being an HP fan fic so I didn’t know that was happening either! So yes i see your point
Ah thank you! Thanks for clearing that up. I didn’t know she was still posting HP fan art.
In that case I understand.
yea of course!! i’ve kept up with a lot of the discourse on it and glad to share my wisdom of it (lol) where i can :)
Also, for Alchemized, her cover art is made with AI you can check this out on Threads and also search the user shelfindulgence.tacoma on Threads has a Google Doc about it.
At the end of the day, personally, I’ve seen many from the queer community saying how harmful these works have been due to the fact that they do lead people to the original works; it’s nearly impossible to not know what these stories were inspired from. word of mouth alone, they would know. I’ve seen in many comment sections people saying that they are going to pick up HP because of these stories. I wholeheartedly believe we should listen to marginalized communities because they are the ones directly being affected in such a harmful, scary way. No fictional story is more important than people to me; it’s as simple as that. No one is saying you cannot pick up these authors; that’s entirely up to you, but I also think you should be aware how your actions can be harmful to marginalized communities.
This exactly👏
Also, for Alchemized, her cover art is made with AI you can check this out on Threads and also search the user shelfindulgence.tacoma on Threads has a Google Doc about it. Which is gross to me personally.
At the end of the day, personally, I’ve seen many from the queer community saying how harmful these works have been due to the fact that they do lead people to the original works; it’s nearly impossible to not know what these stories were inspired from. word of mouth alone, they would know. I’ve seen in many comment sections people saying that they are going to pick up HP because of these stories. I wholeheartedly believe we should listen to marginalized communities because they are the ones directly being affected in such a harmful, scary way. No fictional story is more important than people to me; it’s as simple as that. No one is saying you cannot pick up these authors; that’s entirely up to you, but I also think you should be aware how your actions can be harmful to marginalized communities.
Preach!!🙌 someone had to do it
Yesss! Adding what I don't already have to my 🚩 shelf so I can easily see it if I'm about to accidentally add something to my tbr (Colleen Hoover, SJM, and others I know I'll remember, but some authors/books I don't hear about as often and I don't trust my memory 😩)
Same, my memory is horrible and I don’t keep up to date with authors and their social media platforms
Why Nic Stone? And Amy harmon?
I tried googling and I think I know but still not sure about Harmon but nothing came up on Stone.
She posted on her IG story pray for israel also this Reddit post talks about her as well
Thank you! I will check the reddit out.
I also want to know why Nic Stone?? I haven't seen or heard anything about her being bad. Also Neil Gaiman 100% deserves a spot on here.
Like what I could find was dear Martin being banned because people didn't like her talking about police violence, racism, you know the typical bullshit reasons.
I read the book and I didn't see anything wrong with it, tbh. Like the only reason people want it banned is because they're racist and it's anti-copaganda.
This is actually incorrect pls do research
I mean, that is the only reason why people want the book banned. I didn't know Nic Stone was a zionist which is why we were asking. When pulling up "nic stone controversy" it only shows her books being banned due to her conversations about racism and cops.
Ohhhh, I see what you're saying. Yeah, it's worth checking that Insta page.
Unfortunately I do not have Instagram but I do appreciate you letting us know that she's a zionist. I've removed her from my recommendations.
Zionestauthors insta page will have what your looking for on Nic stone
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE LIST THANK GOODNESS THERE IS ONE NOW
This list is so useful now that we can mute books 🎉 thank you!
Why Taylor Jenkins Reid? I have to know since I’ve read a few of hers😭 thankfully that’s the only ones I’ve read from this whole list
“Since last October, Taylor Jenkins Reid has not publicly acknowledged the genocide in Palestine in any way. The only thing she posted was a video of an Israeli father crying in an interview. This is harmful in the way it frames the situation: settlers are perpetual victims. There is no room in that narrative for Palestinian rights or resistance. It is propaganda meant to build sympathy for the oppressor, and that is how TJR used her platform. She has not spoken up for Palestinians in any way.” Zionestauthors on instagram has the screenshot of this
Another personal reason for me is that in a majority of her books she has centered around BIPOC characters. I personally don’t like how she had so many Hispanic main characters for her being Caucasian. And is the representation good not really.
@ jhdysprosium on threds explained this aspect perfectly as well in my opinion
“I think the main issue is that publishers will uplift white authors who wrote bipoc characters over bipoc authors. Bipoc authors get less marketing and placement compared to white authors even if they are from the same publisher.”
I have a Do Not Support shelf if you need want more entries.
Do they have explanations in the comments as to why not too?
Shelfs don't have comments, so no, but a lot of them are AI written, of pen names of people who are pretending to be a minority.
What's wrong with Callie Hart? I'm seeing information about Zionism and maybe Palestine but I'm not clear what the actual issue is. I also don't know if using sweeping statements like "problematic" actually helps readers understand socially undesirable behavior and its nuances. Just my two cents.
Why are TJ Kune and Senlinyu here? What did they do? Also, should consider adding Neil Gaiman.
TJ Klune because for some reason he tried to claim that his found family book was inspired by the sixties scoop. And Senlinyu because of the HP connection (publishing fanfic—and promoting it as such—keeps JKR in the zeitgeist no matter what other intentions the author/readers might have)
I highly recommend looking up the 60’s scoop. It’s so crazy of TJ Klune, a white man, to use indigenous genocide as inspiration for his fantasy novel. I’ll also second @kishmish comment about Senlinyu; it’s spot on.
why sanderson?
He is Mormon and uses his money for anti LGBTQ+ organizations and I believe he is pro Israel
fwiw he has an entire section on his website FAQ about LGBTQ+ support and states:
My current stance is one of unequivocable support for LGBTQ+ rights. I support gay marriage. I support trans rights, the rights of non-binary people, and I support the rights of trans people to affirm their own identity with love and support. I support anti-discrimination legislation, and have voted consistently along these lines for the last fifteen years. I am marking the posting of this FAQ item, at the encouragement of several of my LGBTQ+ fans, with a sizable donation to the Utah Pride Center and another to The OUT Foundation.
(The whole section is much longer about how he reconciles that with his faith)
But he is a practicing Mormon and I believe as part of that probably does give money to the Mormon church itself.
He may put money into LGBTQ+ supporting organizations but that doesn't change him being an active Mormon (a racist homophobic organization) where he is also putting money into. Like one doesn't cancel the other out. He is actively supporting and a part of the Mormon organization. That makes what money he puts into LGBTQ+ supporting organizations seem like a pittance. He is also a zionist so either way🖕🏽 him
I’m not advocating to take him off or anything, just was looking into it on my own and found that information relevant to the conversation
I mean... if we really go that route we should cancel most authors who are part of any church or mosque since they're all, or most of them, inherently very much homophobic.... So that doesn't make much sense to me. I do think him being zionist is a valid point tho, but yeah...
I am getting downvoted and I just wanna say i couldn't give less f's about religion, as I dislike all of them for this exact reason, as a bisexual woman... And I myself am an atheist. I just don't see the logic in that. Instead of downvoting away maybe tell me the difference that the mormon church has compared to my orthodox churches for example which also condemn me to eternal fire? lol
I think the down voting comes because the LDS is not equal to other churches, it's a damn cult. They are literally a business and take 10% of income from all their members and use that in very harmful ways. I'm also an atheist and you will catch me dead before defending any religious institution but it is inaccurate to say that the Mormons are like every other religion, because they are simply not.
Oh, yikes... I did not know that. Although, in Romania the church also asks people for money and that's why many hate churches even if they are religious. Anyways, I was referring more to the broad fact that from my point of view, anyone who's part of any church is either willingly or unwillingly participating in organizations that ARE homophobic, unless they're one of the very few and rare pro lgbt churches lol which I am pretty sure do not exist in orthodox countries lmao
I had NO IDEA that happened in Romania. The more you know... I would be fuming (and moving) if my government made me pay any amount of money to a religious institution. And I do agree with you that solely religious association wouldn't be enough for me to stop reading an author. But I do have personal beef with the LDS and JW and the more fringe/extremist christian churches so any association with those more extreme institutions is going to be a hard pass for me.
Extremist branches are so alive in romania too, they are called Pocaiti lol I had a friend that was sadly part of a family like that and another one that was from a Jehova's Witness family... Also, I don't live in Romania so I don't know for sure if any of their money goes to churches, but I do know that priests or whatever they're called do go from door to door to "bless" their houses and then demand money for doing it lol And that they just built the biggest Orthodox church in the world despite people's protest against building more churches LOL
Zionestauthors on instagram shows why it’s a great page
i’m not on insta
Yeah, that’s unfortunate. There are great resources and information your missing out on there. I can’t list each and every single author, as that would take too much time. Hopefully you find what you’re looking for, though. Google
0% overlap IKTRRR 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Thank you thank you thank you for this! I can reference this to update my DNR list!
zibby owens my most beloathed
For anyone avoiding Zionists, there is also this spreadsheet with some additional information 🫰🍉
Bill Willingham?? What did I miss
When I saw 1% overlap I just knew it was J K Rowling
What did Pierce Brown do ??
“Pierce Brown has reposted at least three different pieces of Zionist propaganda to his Instagram story. One of these posts depicts a candle burning with the quote "more Jews were murdered on October 7th, 2023 than on any other single day since the holocaust." This frames Israeli settlers as victims of religious persecution and makes it seem as if what is happening is a religious conflict rather than a genocide. It invokes the holocaust to justify a new one, and weaponizes Judaism. Additionally, Brown included war criminal Henry Kissinger's "On China" as part of his reading list. When he received backlash, his response was "stay in an echo chamber you will only ever know your own opinion." You can look at the screenshots on the Zionestauthors Instagram page, not to mention searching on Google and TikTok; there’s Reddit. Also threads probably.
Wait, what did the author of Quicksilver do? I was so close to buying the book...
Callie Hart is considered problematic by some readers due to passages in her books, particularly Riot House, which include potentially problematic content related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Oh, so basically another Zionist-leaning author? Why are there so many of them lol
Yes and who knows
What did M.A. Wardell do? I've had his books recommended to me a lot.
So kids of today shouldn't read Harry Potter?
Its a great story but strongly reccommend trifting the series and not give jkr anything, second hand everything
Wait, what did Nicholas Sparks do? What did I miss?? 😭
this is def not why he made this list but all the career booksellers i know who have met him says he’s extremely unpleasant lol
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