Crossed Hearts has encountered a problem with their BL titles.
The indie publisher provided an update on their debut line-up from their BLUSH CLUB, the imprint focused on BL works. Two mature titles, The King of Owls and His Troubled Attendant and The Bird in the Cage Dreams, will not be released during their original projected December window due to not “receiving the necessary censorship approval.” Crossed Hearts prints their books in China and said that their partner had previously accepted the production orders but due to censorship laws will no longer be able to proceed with printing them.
“This came as an unexpected development for us, as we had not anticipated that local content restrictions would prevent these titles from being manufactured in China for export to international markets,” the notice read. While Crossed Hearts tried approaching their other printing partners, presumably in China as well, they encountered the same issue.
The publisher has since found a new printing partner in India but will now have to push the release dates out to February 14, 2027 for their website and March 16, 2027 for retail tores.
The other titles in their line-up, Until We Fall in Love and A Gaze Like Lightning, were not affected and will still release on time.
“We recognize that many of you have been eagerly awaiting these releases, and we sincerely regret the disappointment this change may cause. As a new label, we are still learning to navigate the complexities of international publishing and manufacturing, and this experience has reinforced the importance of establishing production arrangements that can reliably support the diverse stories we wish to bring to readers.
Above all we want to assure you that our commitment to publishing these stories in their original form, without compromising their content or production quality, remains unchanged.”
Censorship laws in China are not a new thing with creative content going under scrutiny under the Chinese government for any sexually explicit content. While this is not restricted to only LGBTQ+ stories, fans of danmei (Chinese boys’ love stories) will be intimately familiar with the challenges of accessing uncensored content.
Source: X, formerly known as Twitter
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