Bloomsbury backs down in Larbalestier race row

An American publisher has denied "white washing" the cover of a new novel by the Australian writer Justine Larbalestier. The American subsidiary of Bloomsbury sent out review copies of Liar, a psychological thriller about an African-American teenager, featuring a picture of a white girl on the cover (above, left).
 
Following an outcry from bloggers, Bloomsbury has bowed to pressure and will publish the hardback of Liar this October with a new cover featuring a black girl (above, right). The 'rejacketing' represents a victory for Larbalestier, who writes for the 'young adult' market and says her concerns about the original artwork were ignored.
 
"I was very upset. Both my agent and I requested that it be changed," said Larbalestier. "Are the big publishing houses really only in the business of selling books to white people?" she asked. "That's not a very sustainable model if true."
 
Liar tells the story of Micah, a young woman for whom lying is second nature until her boyfriend dies. Larbalestier said she had imagined Micah looking "quite a lot like" American basketball player Alana Beard, who has short, afro hair. The white girl on the original cover had long, straight hair.
 
Bloomsbury had ordered an initial run of 100,000 copies and was at first unmoved by Larbalestier's complaint. But an abrupt change of heart came last week. Bloomsbury told Publishers Weekly that the original artwork had been intended to reflect the character's "complex psychological make-up". The company "regretted" that "it had been interpreted by some as a calculated decision to mask the character's ethnicity".
 
Born in Sydney, Larbalestier is based in New York and is married to science-fiction writer Scott Westerfield. Her best-known books are the Magic or Madness trilogy, and last year's more upbeat How to Ditch Your Fairy. ·