Lemony Snicket Author Apologizes for Racist Joke, Donates Money

In an apology that’s about as good as apologies get, Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler has said that he is sorry for his comments at the National Book Awards Wednesday, which he called “monstrously inappropriate and yes, racist.” He’s also donated $10,000 to raise money for an organization devoted to diversity in literature, and is matching any other funds raised in the next 24 hours up to $100,000.

In a series of tweets, Handler wrote:

He then retweeted two tweets from the We Need Diverse Books campaign, which is “a grassroots organization created to address the lack of diverse, non-majority narratives in children’s literature,” as their website states. “We Need Diverse Books is committed to the ideal that embracing diversity will lead to acceptance, empathy, and ultimately equality.”