Fandom Pulse has uncovered more dirt on the unusually clean bathtub enthusiast:
To add more bubbles to the bath, a publishing industry insider has spoken out about Neil Gaiman on X. Michael Matheson posted, “The pattern talked about in recent allegations is decades-long. Power imbalance frequently at the heart of what Neil does. At Clarion, there’s the Gaiman Rule for instructors, named after Neil: ‘Don’t sleep with the students.'”
He continued noting something potentially worse for the author about his being kept away from young writing students at another course, “Neil is (I think unofficially?) barred from teaching at a particular workshop for young writers that caps out attendant age at 19. Not naming that one because I was told it in confidence nearly a decade ago when I was reprinting a story of Neil’s in an anthology.”
Matheson also points out how the industry protects Neil Gaiman, saying, “It’s not a question of ‘if,’ the silence surrounding Gaiman for years is about who wants to lose their career by tilting a lance at one of genre publishing’s sacred (cash) cows. That Gaiman cloaked himself in feminist/ally rhetoric for ages also made it harder to air things.”
Having an unspoken rule about not sleeping with students named after Neil Gaiman at Clarion is a huge red flag. Clarion is where writers go to live for six weeks to workshop and learn from teachers like Neil Gaiman. The workshop produces a lot of writers in traditional publishing and is seen as a rite of passage for a fast track to get into places like Clarke’s World or Tor Books. With a second writer’s workshop allegedly banning Neil Gaiman because it’s geared toward young students, it appears the industry knows the 62-year-old author’s proclivities are much worse than they seem on the surface.
And that’s not all… tomorrow’s Arkhaven Nights is going to be lit! It turns out that in 2012, a nameless, unidentified individual who absolutely and totally was not Neil Gaiman himself set up a Tumblr site where people could send pictures of themselves reading his books in the bathtub. Even better, if they were too shy to post a public picture, they could email the picture directly to an email address belonging to a Gmail account that was definitely not set up by Neil Gaiman, and was certainly not accessible by him, called bathbookneil@gmail.com.
joleneparton: Reading @neilhimself in the bathtub (the illustrated edition of Stardust with Charles Vess). Just barely SFW, if you have a fairly permissive office.
neil-gaiman: This is the internet. Is there actually a dedicated place for happy photos of people reading my books in the bath?
joleneparton: There is now! Send me your photos, people, and I’ll put ‘em up. I’m student enough (and therefore bored enough in class) to take on this task. Address them to bathbookneil@gmail.com if you don’t want to do a Tumblr submission.
neil-gaiman: Why, thank you. I love it when things move at the speed of internet. (And as far as I am concerned, people can be reading their books in the bath naked, fully dressed, they can be of any gender or all, masked, alone, or in groups of as many of them as can fit into a bath.) (I’ve never successfully read in the shower, although I HAVE tried.)
(via neil-gaiman)
That Neil! He’s so naughty and charming and ever so attentive to his fans. My favorite part is where the person who definitely is not Neil Gaiman explains why he is going to the trouble of doing this.
I’m student enough (and therefore bored enough in class) to take on this task.
Gaiman never was particularly good at writing credible dialogue. Case in point, there is someone named PrudishChild suddenly active in the Gaiman-related threads who more than a few Redditors suspect of being one of Gaiman’s sock puppets.
PrudishChild
Any reason to think he set up the gmail, or had access to it? I thought someone else set it up and he just commented on it.
And the suspicions appear to be well-founded, since PrudishChild, who “made this alt account to comment on the allegations against Neil Gaiman” exhibits at least one of Gaiman’s writing quirks.
Weird spaces and poor punctuation? I don’t agree. Maybe some autocorrect issues..? Honestly, I’m not sure what you mean.
What evidence would you accept as me not being Neil Gaiman? I find the accusation that I am him to be bizarre, a bit self-important, and utterly ridiculous. There are 57 members here on this sub, and to think that I’m a famous author is just so, I dunno, self-centered. I am sure he’s being kept away from social media, and I am sure he’s working on prepping for Good Omens 3, which stars filming in January. Engaging with 57 people on r/neilgaimanuncovered won’t do a damn thing for his reputation, his pocketbook, or his work.
I am not defending him. As Ive said many times, I am staying neutral on the matter, until more is known. It may seem like I am “supporting rape culture” or “attacking the victims” or “dedicated to Neil,” because I am one of few (though not alone) who are calling for neutrality instead of immediately condemning him. You can probably find a few statements where what I say can come across as support for Neil, but I think if you look at all my comments fairly, you’ll see that I am merely against turning allegations into proof. That does not serve anyone – victim, accused, society, the internet, Reddit, etc.
I have been posting information about Neil’s works on r/NeilGaiman , as I am allowed to do, and also because the mod asked that be what the subreddit remain. I am providing content for comments. You may see that as attacking the accusers, but I do not.
Gammas always think they’re being so clever. They never understand how transparent their actions are.
UPDATE: Of course, there’s more. There is always more. Apparently, like Harvey Weinstein, naughty Neil likes to run the Teddy Kennedy on the unsuspecting.
The massage was supposed to be for Amanda, but she decided to split it in two with Neil. When it was Neil’s turn, this person recounts that they told him to get naked and covered with a towel so that when they returned he was decent. Neil called the masseur back into the room (usually it’s the massage therapist who knocks), and when they got back into the room Neil was standing naked in front of them.
Gamma Game!