Anatomy of a Cancellation: 5. The Rewrite

A sensitivity reader Helen Gould speaks publicly for the first time, revealing the emotional and professional complexities of revising a book already in print.

Katie Razzall interrogates the role of sensitivity readers, and asks: who gets to decide what’s acceptable in literature—and what happens when those boundaries shift?

In Shadow World: Anatomy of a Cancellation, the BBC’s Culture Editor Katie Razzall revisits a story that rocked the UK’s publishing industry in 2021. It led to what some saw as the unjustified cancellation of a prize-winning writer and teacher - but to others, was a long overdue reckoning for the world of publishing. It grew into a culture war about race, class, and who has the right to say what.

Anatomy of a Cancellation explores a range of different perspectives to consider how people now view one of the most controversial literary rows in recent memory.

Presenter: Katie Razzall Producer: Charlotte McDonald Additional production: Octavia Woodward Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Katie Morrison Sound design and mix: James Beard Story editing: Meara Sharma Series producer: Matt Willis Senior news editor: Clare Fordham Commissioning executive: Tracy Williams Commissioning editor: Dan Clarke

It was a BBC Long Form Audio production for Radio 4.