Tilly Fitzgerald, a former Waterstones employee and a prominent figure on social media for book enthusiasts, has publicly expressed her gratitude following substantial backing from the literary community in an open letter. Fitzgerald’s dismissal from the bookstore chain has sparked significant controversy and debate around freedom of expression and the responsibilities of employees on social media.
“I want to say thank you to every single person who has signed that letter, or supported me in any other way this week, because it really and truly has meant everything – not just to me, but to the LGBTQIA+ community who are seeing how much love there is for them.”
Tilly Fitzgerald
Read more: Tilly Loves Books sacked by Waterstones over gender critical author comments
Fitzgerald, known for her engaging book reviews under the username TillyLovesBooks, came under fire after posting a provocative comment on the social media platform X, responding to an author’s expressed views on gender issues. She wrote, “Ooh I’ll enjoy tearing up your books and popping them in the bin today. Thanks for the heads up.” The comment was directed at Christina Dalcher, a novelist noted for her works “VOX” and “Femlandia,” who had shown support for SEEN Publishing—a group that has stirred contentious discussions over gender ideology.
Authors ask Waterstones to reinstate worker
The incident led to Fitzgerald’s termination, with Waterstones citing a breach of their social media policy. However, the decision was met with a wave of support for Fitzgerald, culminating in an open letter signed by over 500 authors and industry professionals, urging Waterstones to reconsider their stance.
“We feel it is an egregious error to terminate the employment of a dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable bookseller for expressing a personal opinion about an author and their work on their social media page,” stated the letter, authored by British comedy scriptwriter Sara Gibbs and published on Substack. The letter stressed that Fitzgerald’s actions were performed on a personal account, which “was not associated with Waterstones.”
Notable figures, including Joanne Harris, author of “Chocolat”, writer and podcaster Dorian Lynskey, and culture journalist Jason Okundaye have rallied behind Fitzgerald, emphasizing the loss to both the community and the company due to her dismissal.
Tilly Loves Her Supporters
In a heartfelt response to the support, Fitzgerald told How To Be Books, “I want to say thank you to every single person who has signed that letter, or supported me in any other way this week, because it really and truly has meant everything – not just to me, but to the LGBTQIA+ community who are seeing how much love there is for them.
“It’s been a very strange week, but despite some of the negativity, things finally seem to be turning around and that is only due to all these people in the book community speaking up for me, for which I’ll always be grateful.”
Fitzgerald clarified her initial comments were not intended to advocate for the censorship of Dalcher’s works but were an expression of personal disassociation.
Waterstones, in a statement released earlier this week, insisted that Fitzgerald’s dismissal was strictly procedural. “We have received some messages about an employee who has been dismissed. This was on the grounds of contravening Waterstones’ policies and has nothing to do with transgender rights,” the company stated.
Dalcher has taken to X to comment today (July 11) that a number of her books have been review bombed on literature rating platform Goodreads, saying, “And the war continues”.
Image credit: Tilly Fitzgerald provided to How To Be Books / A P Monblat
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