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Did JK Rowling's 'Ickabog' bomb due to transgender remarks? Publisher Hodder and Stoughton to slash book's price

An insider told MEAWW that the British publishing house is probably going to relaunch the book in March at a lower price

JK Rowling's new book 'Ickabog' is probably going to have its price lowered by publishers Hodder and Stoughton in light of poor sales. The publishers are planning to relaunch the book at a lower price. Is the controversy surrounding the author's alleged transphobic statements to be blamed for this? A source has told MEAWW on condition of anonymity that the British publishing house — which has published several books written by Rowling — is planning to relaunch the book in March. This is not the first time Rowling has come under fire for her supposed anti-trans outlook.

In September, a review for her book 'Troubled Blood' claimed it had a "subplot to make Rowling’s critics fume.” The fifth installment in the ‘Cormoran Strike’ series — written under her frequent pseudonym Robert Galbraith — is reportedly about a cis-gendered man who dresses up like a woman to kill other women. “The meat of the book is the investigation into a cold case: the disappearance of GP Margot Bamborough in 1974, thought to have been a victim of Dennis Creed, a transvestite serial killer,” a review of the book on The Telegraph noted. “One wonders what critics of Rowling’s stance on trans issues will make of a book whose moral seems to be: Never trust a man in a dress.”

Last year, the 'Harry Potter' author attracted major criticism after she took issue with the phrasing for an article about healthcare equality, titled 'Opinion: Creating a more equal post-Covid-19 world for people who menstruate.' "'People who menstruate'. I'm sure there used to be a word for those people," she tweeted. "Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?"

She went on to argue that “If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth.” Her comments drew a flood of criticism from members of the LGBTQIA+ community, gender activists, and from actors such as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint, who have played major roles in the ‘Harry Potter’ films.

Responding to the backlash, Rowling wrote an essay on June 10, in which she revealed the domestic abuse and sexual assault she had survived, and how her concerns about women’s safety, arising from her own personal history, does not make her a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist) and is not exclusive of her sympathy for trans rights. But her essay only drew further flak online.

Eddie Izzard, a gender-fluid comedian, defended Rowling against accusations of transphobia, however. "I don't think JK Rowling is transphobic," she said during an interview with the Daily Telegraph. "I think we need to look at the things she has written about in her blog. Women have been through such hell over history. Trans people have been invisible, too."

"I hate the idea we are fighting between ourselves, but it's not going to be sorted with the wave of a wand. I don't have all the answers. If people disagree with me, fine — but why are we going through hell on this?" Izzard added. MEAWW has reached out to Hodder and Stoughton for comment.