Arts Council England faces legal threat over magazine’s withdrawal of poet’s work

Publicly funded journal pulled poem citing writer’s ‘social media presence’, with solicitors alleging discrimination over gender-critical views

A poet is threatening Arts Council England (ACE) with legal action after a magazine it funds withdrew her work from publication based on her “social media presence”, which she believes refers to gender-critical posts.

A letter sent to ACE by solicitors representing the poet Abigail Ottley last Tuesday, seen by the Guardian, argues the public body “failed” to “conduct a sufficient inquiry” into the decision not to publish Ottley’s poem made by the Aftershock Review, which the lawyers accuse of discrimination.

Aftershock was launched last year by Max Wallis. It received £32,368 from ACE in April 2025, and a further £60,000 on 28 January, according to ACE data.

Ottley’s poem was accepted for publication by Aftershock in September. In October, Ottley received an email from the magazine informing her that it had decided not to proceed with publishing her work.

“Following an internal review, and in light of concerns raised about your social media presence, we’ve decided not to proceed with publishing your work in this issue,” reads the email, cited in the legal letter. “As a trauma-informed and inclusive publication, the Aftershock Review has a duty of care to ensure our contributors and readers feel safe and respected. This decision reflects our commitment to those principles and is final.”

According to the letter, Ottley did not receive a response when she asked for clarification about what element of her social media activity had led to the withdrawal. She complained to ACE in November, and approached the Freedom in the Arts (FITA) organisation, which also lodged a complaint that month.

On 28 January, ACE responded to Ottley’s complaint, stating that it did not identify a breach of its terms and conditions of funding for grantees in Aftershock’s decision-making. “Although we are unable to provide specific details of our review, I hope it is helpful to mention that the grant-holder confirmed that your poem was not withdrawn due to your gender-critical beliefs,” the email stated, according to the legal letter, sent by Conrathe Gardner LLP.

Ottley’s social media activity “consists primarily of expressing and re-posting gender-critical views”, said FITA. Her solicitors argued that “in the absence of further clarification as to what it was about Ms Ottley’s social media profile that resulted in the withdrawal, there are sufficient facts to establish that the reason why she was discriminated against was her gender-critical beliefs.” Ottley’s social media activity includes retweeting prominent gender-critical voices, such as JK Rowling.

The letter asks ACE to disclose all documents related to the complaint’s January dismissal, and in order to “avoid litigation” asks that it re-open the complaint, conduct a “lawful and fulsome investigation”, and review its decision to fund Aftershock, on the basis that ACE grantees must comply with the Equality Act 2010 not to discriminate.

A spokesperson for ACE said that it will not comment at this stage, “as legal proceedings are ongoing”.

The Aftershock Review has not responded to a request for comment.