Publishers say no to gay protagonists

So, in a repeated fail that we've seen before in the publishing industry, authors who have written YA stories with a gay protagonist have been told by publishers that they need to make their protagonist straight

Yes, they will publish the story so long as the authors de-gay it.

I haven't read the authors in question so I'm not going to recommend or encourage their works, but the very idea of demanding a protagonist be made straight is something that never fails to infuriate me. It's a pet hate of mine and a major issue close to my heart that we rarely get a decent portrayal in any form of media. If anything this is even more important when it comes to YA fiction.

I want a lot when it comes to fiction. Not because I'm demanding – but because we're currently so lacking. Because there are so few portrayals and so few good portrayals. And because there's so much damage caused by our erasure and the deeply flawed portrayals we so often see.

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