VOYA Magazine's Latest Actions

Hi. Hannah here. Since the petition went live two days ago, we've collected over 250 signatures and been covered positively by news sources such as Refinery29. Anna and I along with dozens of passionate supporters have been working hard to make sure that none of what VOYA's done--the initial review of Keplinger's RUN, their history of labeling dozens of f/f YA books as "mature" when a m/f or m/m would not be, their repulsive email to Tristina Wright, and their incredibly unprofessional behavior on both Twitter and Facebook following widespread awareness of RUN's review-- is forgotten until it is addressed. VOYA has not issued any more statements or, as far as I know, answered any more emails. But they have made it very clear that they know about this petition, in the following ways: 1) They liked a comment on their Facebook that spoke against the boycott. 2) They deleted Anna's comments that linked to the boycott. 3) They then blocked Anna (like they'd previously blocked me) from the Facebook page entirely. 4) They've been steadily going through and deleting the worst of their own comments from the Facebook page. 4) Lisa Frueh Kurdyla, part-owner and the voice behind some of VOYA's most offensive statements, locked down her personal Facebook and changed her display name and profile picture. In addition, at about 5 PM on September 26th, a Twitter account with the handle @HeardofSlander and the display name Lisa Frueh began threatening me and the @bisexualbook accounts with legal action because of "slander" (later changed to libel) against Lisa here on the petition. When I asked her to elaborate on what the lies were, she told me that was "not [her] job." I offered her my DMs, my email address, and my phone number if she wanted to talk; she responded by first locking down her account to the public and then blocking me (and others) individually. Although the display name was Lisa Frueh and this person seemed interested solely in protecting the reputation of Lisa Frueh and not VOYA Magazine in general, she insisted that she was not Lisa and had no personal connection to VOYA magazine. A comment left on the VOYA Facebook page asking if this account was connected to VOYA magazine was deleted sometime between 5 PM and midnight of September 26th. VOYA knows what's happening. They know the offense and the harm that they've caused. They know that we're not accepting it, and they know that we are continually asking to have a conversation with them and for them to answer our questions about their behavior and their plans for moving forward. They've responded with silence and silencing others. Appealing to VOYA on moral grounds has not worked. They've heard us. They've showed us how much they value the work and the well-being of the authors, professionals, and readers they've harmed with their reviews and their behavior. The only way to reach them is by putting their bottom line in jeopardy. Share this petition, spread the word to #boycottVOYA, and show that we will not sit still with this management in place and let this behavior continue. For screenshots of all of the behavior outlined above, please see @SaundraMitchell on Twitter or check out http://www.bisexualbooks.com/. Hannah Moskowitz YA Author