” Before I could even get my manuscript to the press, a PUBLISHERS WEEKLY reporter noticed NewSouth’s announcement and wrote an article (January 3, 2011) anticipating the book’s forthcoming release. Within hours, my email box (and the “Contact Us” address at my publisher) began to clog up with furious objections, some of whose similarities of language suggested that an organized campaign was underway to discourage its publication.”–Alan Gribben

The WALL STREET JOURNAL reported over 55,000 posts about the NewSouth Edition on Twitter and Facebook (the only social media available in 2011) within a four-day period. 60 MINUTES called to schedule interviews for a televised broadcast.

Suddenly, the media world exploded over the concept of tampering with Mark Twain’s phrasing. Reporters from television, newspapers, magazines, and radio besieged the publisher and Gribben seeking interviews and details.

Among the news organizations covering this “controversy” were NBC, CBS, BBC, NPR, the NEW YORK TIMES, THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, THE GUARDIAN, THE LONDON TIMES, THE IRISH TIMES, and THE INDIA TIMES. Newspaper columnists, editorial cartoonists, and Internet bloggers also weighed in.

It seemed that everyone had an opinion. We received scores of newspaper commentaries and editorial cartoons from friends and acquaintances across the nation. On the whole, the issue was not about the novel HUCKLEBERRY FINN but the audacity to change a racial slur. However, translating one word did not “sanitize” enslavement from the book, as critics were falsely charging.

2/5

Within the year NewSouth Editions and Original Text Editions of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were available: https://ugapress.org/imprints/newsouth-books/ (NewSouth Books merged with UGA Press in 2023) and Amazon https://www.google.com/search?q=amazon+alan+gribben+books&rlz=1C1EJFC_enUS868US868&oq=amazon+alan+gribben+books&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.8542j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1