The Jewel of Medina - Subsequent Planned Publication

Subsequent Planned Publication

On September 4, 2008, it was announced that British publisher Gibson Square would publish The Jewel of Medina in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Gibson Square publisher Martin Rynja called for "open access to literary works, regardless of fear" and said, "If a novel of quality and skill that casts light on a beautiful subject we know too little of in the West, but have a genuine interest in, cannot be published here, it would truly mean that the clock has been turned back to the dark ages." In a press release, Rynja added, "I was bowled over by the novel and the moving love story and interesting but unknown history it portrays. I was struck by the research of Sherry Jones, who is a journalist with almost 30 years of experience, her literary imagination and passion for the novel's characters." Commenting on the decision by Gibson Square, Alvaro Vargas Llosa, a Latin American author, wrote in a widely published article for The New Republic: "The book's content — which has been described, promisingly, as being full of sex and violence — is irrelevant to the discussion. It may well be, as one scholar who read it contends, that The Jewel of Medina is pure trash." He closes his essay with: "I am not interested in the reasons why Gibson Square has decided to publish the book — whether opportunism, greed, love of scandal, a dislike of the prophet, or a belief in the merits of the novel. But the fact that someone, somewhere, is willing to run the risk of not letting the threat of violence inhibit free expression is tremendously comforting."

On September 27, 2008 Martin Rynja's house in London was firebombed, apparently by individuals opposed to the publication. Three men were arrested on suspicion of commissioning, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism; radical Islamic clerics such as Anjem Choudhary warned of further attacks. The three men were caught because officers had been watching them in an intelligence-led surveillance operation; they were later found guilty of conspiracy to recklessly damage property and endanger life.

After the arson attempt, the publisher issued a statement saying that Jones had decided to indefinitely postpone publication of the book. Jones denies doing so, and says that the decision was entirely the publisher's.

On September 5, 2008, it was announced that American publisher Beaufort Books (previously best known as the publishers of If I Did It by O. J. Simpson) would publish The Jewel of Medina in America. According to Jones' agent, Natasha Kern, "about a dozen" other publishers had expressed interest in the novel, but some had backed off due to "possible threats". Kern said that Beaufort was giving Jones a smaller advance than Random House had, but a higher rate of royalties. Beaufort's president, Eric Kampmann, said in a press release, "We are building a great team to bring The Jewel of Medina to the audience it deserves to have. Everyone at Beaufort is proud to be associated with this ground breaking novel."