"American Dirt" critics share their own death threats

The American Dirt press tour was canceled over “threats of physical violence” toward the author, but the book's critics are pushing back against any notion that author Jeanine Cummins is a victim.

Members of the Dignidad Literaria movement, which formed to respond to the controversy over the novel, said they've received threats over their opposition to the novel while the publisher admitted that Cummins herself has received none, according to the Guardian.

(The publisher, Flatiron, denied this to the Guardian.)

Prominent feminist and author Roxane Gay is among those who are no stranger to death threats; she told the Guardian that she receives them weekly and that it's important to understand how dangerous it is for marginalized voices to speak out.

Members of the Latinx community have criticized American Dirt — a novel about a Mexican mother-son duo fleeing cartel violence — not because of the author’s ethnic identity, but because they believe her depiction is inaccurate and because they believe the publisher could have found better portrayals of the issue from Latinx authors.

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