After much backlash against her book “American Dirt,” Jeanine Cummins will not be going on the scheduled author tour to promote her novel, according to Leah Asmelash from CNN… Support our news coverage by subscribing to our Kindle Nation Daily Digest. Joining is free right now!

The announcement was made by publisher Flatiron Books, which said it made the decision because of safety concerns.

“Based on specific threats to booksellers and to Jeanine Cummins, we believe there exists real peril to their safety,” wrote Bob Miller, president and publisher of Flatiron.

Miller also addressed the controversy surrounding the book, saying the discussion around “American Dirt” has “exposed deep inadequacies” in how the publisher addresses diversity and representation.

Miller apologized for specific issues people raised with the book and its rollout, including saying Cummins’ husband was a undocumented immigrant without specifying he is from Ireland, and using barbed wire as decor at its bookseller dinner, matching part of the book’s jacket design.

“We can now see how insensitive those and other decisions were, and we regret them,” Miller wrote.

The announcement doesn’t mean all speaking engagements are off, though. Miller wrote that Flatiron would organize a series of town hall meetings with Cummins and those who raised concerns about the book in order to create a dialogue.

“We believe that this provides an opportunity to come together and unearth difficult truths to help us move forward as a community,” he said, concluding the statement.

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