In an open letter affirming trans and gender non-conforming communities, hundreds in the U.K.’s publishing industry shoot back against Rowling’s persistent transphobic behavior.

UPDATE (10/1):

Since this story was originally published, over 1,500 U.K. authors, editors, academics and public notable figures have signed onto a statement in support of trans people. Recent signatories include Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit author Jeanette Winterson and Attitude magazine publisher Darren Styles.
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ORIGINAL (9/30):

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has been unrepentant about her transphobic behavior, despite the outcry from a legion of fans who are disappointed to see one of their heroes reject the dignity of transgender people. Now, the publishing industry in the United Kingdom has come out in a stunning show of support for the trans community.

More than 200 authors, publishers, illustrators and other creatives in the U.K. — including Drag Race UK’s Cheryl Hole, novelist Daily Johnson, and actress Carrie Hope Fletcher — have signed on to an open letter in support of trans and gender non-conforming people. While the letter doesn’t call out Rowling by name, the timing and nature of the letter signals an apparent rebuke of Rowling’s recent track record of hurtful remarks about trans people.

“Culture is, and should always be, at the forefront of societal change, and as writers, editors, agents, journalists, and publishing professionals, we recognise the vital role our industry has in advancing and supporting the wellbeing and rights of trans and non-binary people,” the September 30 letter reads. “We stand with you, we hear you, we see you, we accept you, we love you. The world is better for having you in it. Non-binary lives are valid, trans women are women, trans men are men, trans rights are human rights.”

Other signatories of the U.K. publishers’ solidarity letter include Margot and Me author Juno Dawson, Drag Race UK star Divina DiCampo, and The Girl Of Ink and Stars author Kiran Millwood Hargrave. In addition to the words of support, the letter also includes a link for donations to the London-based nonprofit Gendered Intelligence, which provides services catering to trans and gender non-conforming communities.

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After the letter was published online by the bookstore The Second Shelf, scores of other authors and creatives took to social media to echo its sentiments and ask to add their names. Earlier this month, Rowling’s transphobia resulted in some bookstores removing the Harry Potter series from their shelves, in a show of support with trans and gender non-conforming customers.

Rowling responded to her critics in a lengthy essay published in June that expounded upon her problematic views about sex and gender, after she ridiculed inclusive terminology about “people who menstruate” versus the presumption that all women and femmes menstruate.

In the 3,000-word screed, Rowling said trans activism makes “natal” women and girls less safe because it opens the door for men who dress up as women to prey and attack on women in restrooms, playing into a disproven and transphobic trope about trans people using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Even worse, she defended TERFs, calling them inclusive because they include trans men in their feminism on the basis that “they were born women.”

In addition, she falsely claimed that there’s an emerging trend of trans people regretfully de-transitioning back to the gender they were assigned at birth, despite research which indicates otherwise.

Weeks later, she went on record to compare gender transitions to conversion therapy, saying that LGBTQ+ youth “are being set on a lifelong path of medicalization that may result in the loss of their fertility and/or full sexual function.”

Rowling has since doubled down. In September, it was was revealed that her new book Troubled Blood includes a transphobic subplot, in which a cross-dressing murderer lures victims by wearing traditionally feminine garments.

But despite the controversies, Rowling still enjoys her share of supporters: Earlier this week, a letter backing Rowling’s anti-trans stances was published in the Sunday Times. Roughly 50 arts figures in Britain decried the criticism against Rowling as a form of “hate speech” and claimed that the author has been the victim of “an insidious, authoritarian, and misogynistic trend in social media.” Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan, actress Frances Barber and playwright Sir Tom Stoppard were among those who signed on.

Responding via Twitter, Rowling said she was “profoundly grateful” to the letter’s signatories for “showing solidarity with all the women who’re currently speaking up for their own rights and facing threats of violence and even death in return.”