“Maze Runner” author James Dashner has been dropped by his literary agent and publishing company in the wake of sexual misconduct accusations against him.
“Random House Children’s Books, Random House Publishing Group, and Penguin Random House Audio will not be publishing any future books by James Dashner,” Random House said in a statement, obtained by Entertainment Weekly and several other outlets.
Dashner has been with the publishing company for the past decade, most famously for his “Maze Runner” series. Most recently, Dashner was working on his first adult novel for Random House, titled “The Walking.”
According to multiple media outlets, including the New York Times, Dashner’s literary agent Michael W. Bourret parted ways with him on Monday.
Earlier this week, four anonymous commenters commented on a recent School Library Journal article, titled “Children’s Publishing Reckons with Sexual Harassment in Its Ranks,” accusing Dashner of inappropriate behavior. Two other people said they named Dashner in an article on reporting the results by Anne Ursu, who launched a survey about harassment in the children’s publishing world.
On Thursday, Dashner himself posted a long statement to Twitter, writing, “Some of the things said about me have been shocking and my initial instinct was to be defensive… but I believe all victims must be heard and I’m committed to listening to them.”
He continued, “I can sincerely say that I have never intentionally hurt another person. But to those affected, I am deeply sorry. I am taking any and all criticisms and accusations very seriously, and I will seek counseling and guidance to address them.”
https://twitter.com/jamesdashner/status/964205218979225600
The news comes just after Jay Asher was expelled from a writers group for violating its sexual harassment code. Asher spoke with BuzzFeed saying, “it’s very scary when you know people are just not going to believe you once you open your mouth.”
“I feel very conflicted about it just because of what’s going on in the culture and who’s supposed to be believed and who’s not … I understand the predicament they’re in with everything going on and to want to protect themselves,” he continued. “I love the organization, but they didn’t decide to push me out. It was my decision, even though [Lin Oliver, executive director of Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators] said the email contained nothing that their organization should have anything to do with.”
On Wednesday, his agent confirmed Asher had been dropped in a statement to the Associated Press: “Mr. Asher is no longer working with the Andrea Brown agency. He respects and understands their position, given the current climate.”
Representatives for Random House have not yet responded to TheWrap’s request for comment.