Amazon removed gay authored books from sale rankings

Now this is outrageous:

The internet retailer Amazon has denied any anti-gay cause for thousands of books about gay and lesbian topics losing their sales ranking over the past few days after they have been labelled as "adult" books. The "adult" books include Dr Who star, John Barrowman's autobiography.

Amazon previously ranked all books based on sales but over the past few days, thousands of books on gay topics have disappeared from the list. Authors including E.M. Forster, James Baldwin and even Dr Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman have seen their books disappear.

In a statement Amazon said the issues were caused by "a glitch in our system and it's being fixed." (Pink News)

Hmmm. Seems like a pretty selective "glitch" if you ask me. There is an online petition you can sign.

Update: This story just gets stranger and stranger. An imbecile A hacker is claiming responsibility for this mess. Others are claiming this is a trial story Amazon has sent out to distract people. I think the most bizarre thing of all is that Amazon makes it possible to censor books in the first place. Nathaniel from Film Experience ponders:

None of this solves the real problem (why are there ANY systems that allow customers to decide for other customers what is appropriate reading material?) or answers the real question (Why did Amazon originally defend this as policy?)

John Barrowman set to write a sequel to his autobiography

John Barrowman is presently writing a sequel to his autobiography Anything Goes, along with his sister Carol E. Barrowman.

The book will be available in stores on October 1 and will be titled I Am What I Am.

According to the publisher, "I Am What I Am" will offer a "more in-depth exploration of John the man . . . his thoughts, opinions and experiences, and in particular [will] focus on achievements over the past couple of years." (Playbill News)

Source

Here's an extract of John Barrowman's autobiography

If you're really excited about John's autobiography, Anything Goes, here is an extract posted by The Daily Record:

"FROM the day I was born on March 11, 1967, I cried constantly, screaming in a pitch my family claims permanently damaged their ability to hear certain sounds.

My dad claims if I'd been the first one born, I'd have been the last one born.

Barrowman family lore is that I was worse than bad, and so over the years I've become okay with blaming my brother and sister for my insufferable infancy.

My brother Andrew was five when I was born and Carole, the eldest, was eight."

You can read more in an article on the Daily Record website.

Photo from www.legends-online.com

Guess where John Barrowman will be this Valentine's Day?

According to Kent News, Torchwood star John Barrowman will be signing £18.99 hardback copies of his upcoming autobiography (which he wrote with his sister Carol) Anything Goes at Waterstone’s in Bluewater in Kent on Thurs., Feb. 14, from 5.30pm. I got the other book signing dates from Totally Torchwood:

Jan 24th – 11am signing at Waterstones, Birmingham High St
Feb 11th – 1pm signing at Waterstones, 421 Oxford St, London
Feb 11th – 6.45pm event at the National Theatre, London
Feb 12th – 1pm signing at Costco, Watford
Feb 13th – 1pm signing at British Bookshops, Brighton
Feb 13th - 5.30pm Borders Brighton
Feb 14th – 5.30pm signing at Waterstones, Bluewater Kent
Feb 16th – 1pm signing at Borders Cardiff

You can read an earlier post for more information on the book and how to pre-order it.

John Barrowman could be a dad really soon

According to Digital Spy, Torchwood star John Barrowman is planning to have a child with his longtime love and partner Scott Gill. A celebrity friend has agreed to be a potential surrogate mother for the couple, and John swears to reveal who the famous person is in his upcoming autobiography, Anything Goes. For more on the release date of the book and how to order it, you can check out a previous post.

Photo from www.johnbarrowman.com

John Barrowman's upcoming autobiography

In honor of the new year, all this month, I'll be posting lots of info on upcoming work in 2008 you can expect from Scottish actors, so you can check back from time to time. John Barrowman's latest project, an autobiography, is set to hit bookstores in the UK on Jan. 24. Entitled Anything Goes, the book will also have a companion audiobook (voice by John Barrowman himself!) which will be in stores on Feb. 4. You can pre-order both online at www.amazon.co.uk, which is offering both at reduced prices.