Does Random House Have a Morality Clause?

Wow. Is Random House secretly being run by a middle eastern government? Earlier this month it was announced that the publishing house giant was canceling a novel by American writer Sherry Jones about prophet Muhammad and his “feminist leanings” because of concerns it might “incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment.” Now comes word (via Galley Cat) that the company is asking its young adult writers to sign a morality contract.

If you act or behave in a way which damages your reputation as a person suitable to work with or be associated with children, and consequently the market for or value of the work is seriously diminished, and we may (at our option) take any of the following actions: Delay publication / Renegotiate advance / Terminate the agreement.

Ha! Seriously? And how does one define morality in the day and age of Facebook? It is possible, however, that this is just a Random House UK contract clause since Cory Doctorow says there was no such wording in his recent contract. Oh, the English!

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