On November 6, in response to president-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, Mariel Dawson, VP of marketing at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, posted a pro-Trump graphic on her personal Facebook account. The collage image pictured X owner Elon Musk and Trump walking side by side, with an American flag background and the words “It’s a Great Day to be an American.” Fellow book business veterans and authors quickly raised their concerns online.
Book industry acquaintances saw and shared the post, which appears to have been taken down. Children’s author Martha Brockenbrough told PW she received screenshots of Dawson’s feed from “a trusted person who felt alarm seeing such exuberant support for an administration that poses an existential threat to children’s publishing.” Brockenbrough reposted the image on multiple platforms, and it was picked up by publishing gossip Instagram account xoxopublishinggg. Fellow Macmillan authors including We Need Diverse Books board chair Dhonielle Clayton, Katherine Applegate (Wishtree), and Bad Kitty series creator Nick Bruel discussed the situation with Brockenbrough on Instagram and Facebook.
Brockenbrough, whose Unpresidented: A Biography of Donald Trump was published by Macmillan’s Feiwel and Friends imprint in 2018 and in a 2020 paperback edition, said she has “nothing but love and admiration for” Feiwel and Friends, but voiced the opinion that Macmillan marketing had been “weak” for Unpresidented. She judged Dawson’s post “a tasteless thing to do that reflects poorly on her judgment and shows either ignorance or acceptance of all the toxic baggage” of the Trump campaign. “If they succeed in defunding education and libraries, does she think there will continue to be a children’s book industry?”
She added that Dawson’s post was free speech, and “if she’s lost the trust of her colleagues and the people she serves, those are the consequences of speech.”
Authors and readers expressed similar feelings of betrayal and reflected on Macmillan’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Xoxopublishinggg posted several anonymous remarks, one from a “Mac kids author, waffling on continuing with them. This pushed me into no,” and another saying they “have side-eyed every time they’ve spent 7 figures on a BIPOC author’s advance only to completely whiff the marketing, and now we have our answer.” Another anonymously commented, “I now understand why LGBTQ+ YA books I’ve done with Macmillan didn’t get any marketing attention.” Although there is no proof that marketing undermined progressive or otherwise controversial titles, Dawson's post sowed suspicion.
Acknowledging the reaction from the wider community and in-house, MCPG president Jen Besser posted a statement to Instagram on Thursday, addressing the situation and stating Macmillan’s values. “Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group is committed to ensuring that every element of our publishing reflects the core Macmillan values of Impact, Inclusivity, Respect, Sustainability, and Trust,” Besser wrote. “To that end, I would like to address the posts made by a senior MCPG employee regarding the election that have been upsetting to many people. These posts were made from a personal account and not on behalf of Macmillan. We have also seen subsequent posts from those in the publishing community concerned about how we market and promote our books. Our approach to making decisions about our titles never sits with one person and is always guided by our desire to connect every title with as many readers as possible.”
“We are living in a divisive time,” Besser continued. “I take comfort in knowing that the work we do remains incredibly meaningful. Books provide information, context, escape, and hope and we are proud to publish and champion an extraordinary, diverse list of authors whose work has the potential to change the world.”
Aiden Thomas, the trans and Latinx author of Macmillan titles including Cemetery Boys and the Sunbearer duology, responded to Besser’s statement. “Not good enough,” Thomas wrote on Instagram. “You’re gonna have to answer to your authors directly about their concerns. How can a VP of marketing ethically do her job in a professional capacity when she endorses a plan to ban books and charge queer/trans authors as sex criminals?"
People of distinct political persuasions inhabit every workplace, yet the social media blowback to a personal post highlights the tension around the election and the years to come. “We have a big tent, but we don’t want to let a grenade in,” Brockenbrough said. With the children’s book industry and its audiences already stifled by book bans and legislation introduced by members of the Republican party, creators feel anxious when GOP support is coming from inside the house.
Macmillan had yet to respond to PW’s request for further comment by press time.
