Online backlash forces Barnes and Noble to pull plug on campaign

An online backlash over Barnes and Noble's set of reimagined classic book covers featuring diverse protagonists has forced the bookstore chain to pull the plug on the campaign aimed at celebrating black history month.

The initiative was in collaboration with Manhattan's 5th Avenue, TBWA\Chiat\Day and Penguin Random House and saw 42 covers printed across 12 different classic titles, re-casting lead characters whose race was not explicitly indicated in the source text as people of colour. However, it was not well received online, with critics saying it is a ploy to introduce false diversity into the works of white authors when books by authors of colour could have been promoted instead.