Some language relating to gender, race, weight, mental health and violence has been cut or rewritten. This included removing words such as 'fat' and 'ugly,' as well as descriptions using the colors black and white.
The news that changes have been made to the works of best-selling children's author Roald Dahl has met with anger from leading writers, including Booker prizewinner Salman Rushdie, who branded the changes"absurd censorship."
These revisions have been worked on by"sensitivity readers" from an organization called Inclusive Minds, which describes itself as"a collective for people who are passionate about inclusion, diversity, equality and accessibility in children's literature, and are committed to changing the face of children's books."
"Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed," Rushdie tweeted. The spokesperson added that"it's important that works of literature and fiction are preserved and not airbrushed," and said:"We've always defended the right to free speech and expression."
In a thread of 13 tweets, she said the organization was"alarmed" by the changes, which had been made in"a purported effort to scrub the books of that which might offend someone."
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