J.K. Rowling started her career as a beloved author who created a popular serious with an almost cult-like following, “Harry Potter.” But in recent years, Rowling has come under fire for a whole host of behaviors and decisions she’s made, particularly since she joined Twitter.
Her latest action to draw ire? Asking children to help illustrate her newest book, “The Ickabog.”
Here’s how the whole thing started:
We’ll be publishing a chapter (or 2 or 3) every weekday,
starting at 3.00pm today and ending on July 10th.You don’t need to register to access the story. You can read it for free on a new website we’ll be launching shortly.
But there’s more…
8/13
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020
Rowling went on to say that she hopes children will submit illustrations of their own for the book:
I’d like children to illustrate the book for me!
I’ll be suggesting ideas for pictures as we go, but nobody
should feel constrained by my ideas. Let your
imaginations run wild!9/13
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020
She pointed out that the best pictures will be included in the published books later this year:
The best pictures in each publishing territory will be included in the books we intend to publish in November 2020.
As individual publishers will know best which illustrations work in their editions, I won’t be personally judging this competition.
However…
10/13
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 26, 2020
Some people were initially jazzed about this idea:
As always @jk_rowling , you have set new and exciting standards..getting the children to illustrate the book is really cool..congratulations!
— LeaningBookShelf (@BookLeaning) May 26, 2020
And even adults wanted to know if they could submit their illustrations:
I’d like to know if 21 years old people can be considered children
— victor (@ovitorcomc) May 26, 2020
But then the criticisms started rolling in. Chiefly, that Rowling is exploiting children for free labor:
Pay them
— Regular Anti-Genocide Skeleton 🇵🇸 (@DankKingMc) May 26, 2020
Others began warning parents to proceed with caution:
https://twitter.com/miriatii/status/1265294050929803264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1265294050929803264&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.distractify.com%2Fp%2Fjk-rowling-crowdsourcing-kids-illustrations
Rowling was quick to respond, explaining that people need to read the terms and conditions:
I've been absolutely LOVING seeing the children's artwork for #TheIckabog, so I was sorry to see this tweet, which misrepresents the terms of @Scholastic's illustration competition (it's important to realise that different terms and conditions apply in different countries). 1/3 pic.twitter.com/TT95gspSlG
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 28, 2020
She points out that no one is trying to steal the work of children:
A *non-exclusive* license simply allows the use of the entries of your children’s artwork on social media, in articles and other materials around the contest. @Scholastic won’t use them for anything else. 2/3
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 28, 2020
And the winners will receive prizes, too.
Without this non-exclusive license, I wouldn't be allowed to share pictures on social media or respond to the artists. Only WINNERS will be asked to transfer copyright and they will of course receive receive prizes in addition to inclusion in the book. Hope this helps! 3/3
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 28, 2020
No matter how you feel about Rowling, it’s pretty obvious that there’s an easy solution to this debate. If you aren’t comfortable with the terms of the competition, simply don’t submit your child’s artwork. Plain and simple. Your children can still create illustrations to go along with the book, which you can proudly hang on the fridge.
Here’s one entry!
@jk_rowling Amilee Wilson's (age 9) picture of The Ickabog. #TheIckabog pic.twitter.com/65w5tWLHlF
— Marah Wilson (@MarahWilson1986) May 28, 2020
What do you think? Is having your illustration included in one of Rowling’s books the opportunity of a lifetime for a child, or an exploitative move that’s being passed off as a good deed?
Let us know in the comments!
