Dewey’s is truly sorry for any harm caused by choosing Harry Potter as a theme for the Reverse Readathon. There was never any intention to hurt anyone or make anyone feel excluded. The reasoning behind trying a theme was to bring something new to the readathon and try to bring in more participants as the last Reverse readathon had half the number of readers as in previous years. The purpose in choosing Harry Potter as a theme stemmed from the love of the story and was in no way in support of the author. This was a mistake and for that we offer our sincerest apologies. Dewey’s denounces any hate or abuse that is directed towards the trans community and never wanted anyone to feel unsafe.
Upon noting the feedback, it was requested that the readathon be cancelled, as it was not reflective of what Dewey as a person would want. Out of respect for all, the readathon was cancelled. We wanted to hear from the community and allow people to have the space to express themselves and their concerns, but an apology should have been issued sooner.
As for the comments, please know no comments were deleted. Dewey’s has always had and will always have a belief in the freedom of speech. WordPress has some sort of algorithm that automatically approves some comments and puts others into pending that must be processed manually. Unfortunately, this is why certain comments were posted late. All voices should be heard.
There have been requests for new hosts and we would love for volunteers to take over. If you are still wanting to participate in a readathon over the summer @transathon is hosting a readathon to help support trans and nonbinary authors.
Dewey’s is meant to bring us all together to share in the joy of reading and we hope this will continue for many years to come.
Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon 
I love this readathon and want to ensure that it will continue for many ears to come in the spirit it was intended. While I believe that the theme was a poor choice, I don’t believe that the event needs to be canceled, nor do I believe that the hosts need to step down. If this is their choice, however, I would love to help with the planning of future events.
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It’s back on! No theme! This Friday aka tomorrow!
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“There have been requests for new hosts” — what? No, that’s ridiculous. It was a simple error in judgment based on the love of books and not on the author, it was a ‘didn’t think’ moment and I for one accept the apology given. We do not need new hosts, our Dewey’s hosts are wonderful people and this was a mistake and an accident and they certainly did not mean any harm.
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I truly don’t think a change of hosts was necessary. I think mostly the audience wanted to hear “We hear you, we’re sorry, we will take what you’ve said to heart and move forward.” I understand if you still want to step down, but if you want to stay, take it as a learning experience and go forward with more insight gained. It’s a hard, hard lesson learned but it’s not about YOU. It’s really about thinking through the audience.
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I agree there isn’t a need for anyone to step down. Sometimes when people advise or comment that something isn’t inclusive we take it as an attack on us. Like Andi said it’s really not about you at all. What people said was said was because they care or were hurt and wanted everyone to feel included. We often take it personally and I know it’s hard not to but it’s something we should all be working on. We all make mistakes. We all have things we need to educate ourselves on. We need to listen to what people are saying especially those communities that are hurt, learn from them, and pass that knowledge on.
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