Organizers of a weekend conference in Anaheim, designed to promote diversity in the romance novel genre, are wrestling with controversy over Middle East geopolitics.
The Steamy Lit Con, dedicated to “celebrating diversity in romance,” sparked a firestorm when its board and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committee dropped Jewish romance novelist Michelle Mars from a list of authors who would appear at the two-day conference Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3, at the Anaheim Marriott.
Mars was informed in June that her admission to the event had been rescinded, reportedly because some of her recent social media posts included “anti-Palestinian rhetoric” that did not align with the values of the nonprofit organizing the convention.
That nonprofit, Steamy Lit, is a Florida-based bookstore and subscription business whose mission is to amplify the voices of women, nonbinary and genderqueer romance authors of color, while “empowering discourse around sexuality” and self-love.
The convention — now in its second year — will gather hundreds of diverse speakers, romance authors and fans of romance novels.
Author calls move ‘antisemitic’
Mars and her supporters say the Israeli-born author’s removal from the convention lineup is “antisemitic.” Mars also contends she has been defamed by Steamy Lit.
“I was very hurt and concerned about what they might do to my career,” Mars told the Southern California News Group. “The video they most likely took offense to is not anti-Palestinian. It’s a conversation people in the Middle East are having with each other, hoping others will listen, but it’s an internal conversation.”
Steamy Lit Con organizers did not specify which posts they found offensive and did not respond to multiple requests for comment this week.
Posts called ‘anti-Palestinian’
In a June 8 email provided by Mars, Steamy Lit founder Melissa Gill reportedly told her that the organization’s mission is “to create a safe and inclusive environment for marginalized communities which includes not only race, sexuality and ability but also religious and ethnic diversity. Your recent social media posts, specifically the usage of anti-Palestinian rhetoric, do not align with our values.”
The email also said that Mars’ author table fee would be refunded, and no books ordered through the conference would be shipped out.
“We apologize to the readers who were looking forward to seeing Michelle,” a June 10 post on Steamy Lit Con’s Instagram, initially announcing her removal, said. “Our mission as a nonprofit is to host an inclusive romance industry convention for everyone. To that end, racism, prejudice, or anti-ethnic diversity rhetoric of any kind is not acceptable.”
In a public statement on June 11, Mars said she found the convention’s decision “discriminatory,” and that she “would never discriminate against any group. … I have never posted anything anti-Palestinian.”
On her social media, Mars has posted various Middle Eastern activist voices she says are educational, discussing how communities can heal and come together on a resolution. She also regularly posts supporting Jewish voices.
One video that Mars shared to her Instagram, on May 31, is a reposting of another creator’s video in which the speaker, a social media activist, reportedly calls “Islamists” the “most racist, anti-women, imperialist force in the entire world.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Mars also retweeted a February post by Swedish journalist Luai Ahmed that alleges “Islamic terrorists” are known for “their rotten view on women, especially Israeli women.”
They ‘defamed me publicly’
In an interview ahead of the romance convention, Mars was emotional about the ordeal, saying she would have preferred to remain anonymous, but can’t since the convention leaders publicly called her out by name.
“There are so many emotional, mental, and safety concerns I have to consider right now,” Mars said. “It’s not just that they dropped me, after all, it’s that they then defamed me publicly. One is discrimination, the other is an attack on character and career.”
In her statement, Mars said she has “fought for equality for everyone; it’s why I post about Israel.” She called the whole thing a “double standard,” saying the convention that values DEI has “proven that inclusivity does not extend to Israelis or Jewish voices who are not ‘in the closet’ or the ‘good’ Jews.”
This year, Mars was supposed to host an author table to sign books, connect with readers and promote herself as an author.
Mars participated in the convention’s first year in 2023, saying she was one of the first to sign up for an author meet-and-greet table because she loved the Steamy Lit community and its mission. She had “hoped they’d be true to their goal” of inclusion and diversity within the romance genre.
“You made this growing indie’s heart burst with joy. And, to every Jewish reader who came to tell me how much they appreciated seeing casual Judaism on the page, this is why I write those characters. I wanted to see them too,” she shared on Instagram.
Debate erupted after Oct. 7
The debate between the romance author and convention leaders erupted after the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel. Hundreds were taken captive and more than 1,000 people were killed, officials said. Counterattacks by Israeli military forces have led to the death of over 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Also, the California Department of Justice has reported record hate crimes and attacks against both Jewish and Islamic communities in 2023. Since then, the state has seen widespread college campus protests, attacks on local synagogues, clashes between Palestinian and Israeli protestors, and other incidents.
Since last October, Steamy Lit Con organizers have made several statements online addressing their position in the conflict.
Convention organizers announced Oct. 16 they would form a DEI committee to review programming and “ensure the event is inclusive to all identities with accurate representation in both our lineup and panels.”
A day later, they posted that “we are watching, grieving and learning with everyone as we witness the genocide of the Palestinian people and the lost lives of civilians in Israel. As an organization striving to support marginalized and oppressed groups, we want to ensure we are centering our community needs … please continue to interact and engage with content highlighting Palestinian voices, history, and ways to advocate in your community.”
“To be clear: we stand with Palestine and its efforts towards liberation,” a follow-up post read, on Oct. 18. “However, this does not mean that we are in alliance with the loss of innocent people and the threats the Jewish diaspora is experiencing around the world. We are holding space for grieving the lives and loss in the Jewish community and we sincerely apologize if our post yesterday came across as ignoring the pain Jewish folks are in.”
Mars noted that the Oct. 18 post “still didn’t address (Jewish people’s) pain.”
Calls for boycott
With all the back-and-forth, many outraged supporters have left comments over the past week condemning the whole convention and calling for a boycott. They claimed officials’ move to cancel Mars is “antisemitic,” “a form of censorship,” and a way of silencing and uninviting the Jewish community.
One supporter said she was “outraged that you would remove an author for their beliefs,” while many criticized Steamy Lit’s DEI committee. “DEI = antisemitism,” said one. Another commented sarcastically: “How diverse. As a Jew, I feel really welcome.”
In June, more than 200 emails were sent to the Orange County Register, convention leaders and the DEI committee from those upset at the decision to ban Mars from the convention.
In one email, supporter Rich Dweck claimed that the names of some Steamy Lit board members have since been removed from the convention’s website, “preventing the community from contacting them” with complaints.
“This is not only blatant censorship, it is cowardice,” Dweck wrote. “If you are bold enough to ban authors in the name of inclusion, then you should be bold enough to answer to the people you are impacting.”
He and others also claimed that the DEI committee didn’t consider Jewish people who are, Dweck wrote, “notably absent from your DEI considerations.”
“Excluding Jewish voices from your DEI work and ignoring calls to address antisemitism is itself blatant antisemitism. If DEI aims to protect minorities, it must include one of the most targeted minorities, the Jews.”
Mars claims some Jewish authors have dropped out of the convention for unknown reasons, but others still plan to attend. She said that, generally, some Jewish people “aren’t speaking up for fear of reprisal.”
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In the meantime, Mars said she has found solace in the Jewish author community, and was a recent featured speaker at a “Jewish Joy Book Club” event.
“For sure the Jewish community is coming together right now because we’re feeling it from all sides,” she said. “So there’s only one safe place for us right now — and that’s amongst ourselves.”
For more details and the lineup for the sold-out Steamy Lit Con romance novel convention, visit linktr.ee/steamylitcon.
