Indigo to remove portraits of Alice Munro from stores; keep books on shelves

An Indigo bookstore is seen Wednesday, November 4, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz)

Canada's biggest bookseller will remove enlarged photos of Alice Munro from stores, but bookstores large and small say they plan to keep her published works on the shelves.

A spokeswoman for Indigo said the company supports Munro's daughter Andrea Skinner, who published an essay revealing that she had been sexually abused by her stepfather, and her mother did not act.

"Alice Munro’s books are not in violation of our assortment policy, and we will continue to carry her books," Madison Downey said in an email. "Images of Alice Munro appear in some of our stores, and we have determined that it is appropriate for us to remove these."

Indigo's policy is to "carry all books in print" unless experts have declared that a book advocates for "eliminating an entire group in society," contains instructions for making weapons of mass destruction, or is child pornography.

Independent booksellers without such a clear-cut policy have also had to consider how to move forward.

Ian Elliott, owner of A Different Drummer Books in Burlington, Ont., said he was devastated by Skinner's article and briefly considered pulling Munro's books.

"It crossed my mind, I have to say, but I finally said, I'm not in the business of censoring anything here," said Elliott.

He said some customers had put in special orders for Munro's books, and they haven't cancelled those orders.

In Ottawa, Perfect Books store manager Michael Varty said it would be a “slippery slope” to remove artists' work from shelves, and the choice should fall on the customer.

“Literature is full of authors that have less than stellar backgrounds. I think there’s a discussion to be had about separating the artists from their personal lives," he said.

Varty said he has directed some customers to read Andrea Skinner’s essay in the Toronto Star and draw their own conclusions.

“It’s up to the customer to make that decision and whether they want to purchase that book” he said.

"The arc of time will show where her body of work stands in Canadian literature."

Individuals and institutions alike have been grappling with Munro's legacy since Skinner's revelations.

Western University is pausing its Alice Munro Chair in Creativity program and some professors have said they'll now include Skinner's essay in their approach to teaching the Nobel laureate's work.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.