Bookshops have been told by Scotland’s most powerful literary alliance not to sell books written by gender-critical writers or to give the authors public platforms.

As reported by the Times, a briefing document on providing safety for trans people published by the Literary Alliance Scotland (LAS) said that “Terfs” – trans-exclusionary radical feminists, a derogatory term for women considered hostile to trans people – were joining forces with “fascists”.

It said this was a “societal issue” and urged bookshop owners not to “stay out of it”. It added: “This rise in transphobia signals a danger to all LGBTQ+ people, to reproductive rights, etc.”

In a section titled “for bookshops”, the briefing said: “Don’t sell Terf books/platform Terf authors. Don’t expect trans booksellers to sell them. Trans people who see Terf books or ‘gender criticism’ in a bookshop will understand that the bookshop doesn’t want them there.”