After cracking a self-admitted racist joke at the National Book Awards on Wednesday, author Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, has opted to donate to an organization that promotes diversity in literature.
The novelist tweeted his decision on Friday, in a follow up to his personal apology the day before for his joke about black writers and watermelon.
During the awards ceremony, the novelist expressed his surprise that black author Jacqueline Woodson was “allergic to watermelon.”
In video captured by C-SPAN, he went on to say he needed the approval of several black writers and Barack Obama to publish the factoid in a book.
He elaborated his apology in his tweets on Friday:
My remarks on Wednesday night at #NBAwards were monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist. -DH [1/4]
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
It would be heartbreaking for the #NBAwards conversation to focus on my behavior instead of great books. So can we do this? -DH [2/4]
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
Let’s donate to #WeNeedDiverseBooks to #CelebrateJackie. I’m in for $10,000, and matching your money for 24 hours up to $100,000. -DH [3/4[
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
Brown Girl Dreaming is an amazing novel and we need more voices like Jacqueline Woodson. -DH [4/4]
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
Help make it happen for #WeNeedDiverseBooks on @indiegogo http://t.co/GbYtFugeAH
— Daniel Handler (@DanielHandler) November 21, 2014
