Hachette Book Group, Five Additional Publishers and Authors Guild File Landmark Lawsuit Against State of Florida for Unconstitutional Book-Banning Provisions with House Bill 1069
The lawsuit follows recent legal action by Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks in Iowa as publishers continue to challenge book bans across the country
(New York, August 29, 2024)—Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit against Florida public officials, challenging sweeping book removal provisions of HB 1069, an education law that restricts books in school libraries. The additional plaintiffs joining the publishers are the Authors Guild, bestselling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas, two students, and two parents.
As a result of HB 1069, hundreds of titles have been banned across the state since the bill went into effect in July 2023. The list of banned books includes classics such as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, as well as contemporary novels by bestselling authors such as Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, and Stephen King. Among nonfiction titles, accounts of the Holocaust such as The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank have been removed.
HB 1069 requires school librarians to remove books that contain anything that can be construed as “sexual conduct,” with no consideration of the educational value of the work as a whole. If “a parent or a resident of the county” objects to a book, the book must be removed within five days and remain unavailable until the objection is resolved. There is no requirement to review a book within a reasonable time frame—or even to return it if it has been found not to violate the statute. If a book is returned to the library, an objector may request a review by a state-appointed special magistrate at the expense of the school district.
Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks issued a joint statement: “As publishers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the right to read, the rise in book bans across the country continues to demand our collective action. Fighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority. We are unwavering in our support for educators, librarians, students, authors, readers—everyone deserves access to books and stories that show different perspectives and viewpoints.”
Dan Novack, VP, Associate General Counsel, PRH, said: “Florida HB 1069’s complex and overbroad provisions have created chaos and turmoil across the state, resulting in thousands of historic and modern classics—works we are proud to publish—being unlawfully labeled obscene and removed from shelves. Students need access to books that reflect a wide range of human experiences to learn and grow. It’s imperative for the education of our young people that teachers and librarians be allowed to use their professional expertise to match our authors’ books to the right reader at the right time in their life.”
“There is no greater gift than hearing that your words have deeply impacted someone’s life. We share our stories in hopes that they will resonate with readers, help them feel understood, and introduce them to new perspectives. Laws like HB 1069 in Florida deprive students of this opportunity and must be stopped,” said the author plaintiffs in a joint statement.
“Book bans censor authors’ voices, negating and silencing their lived experience and stories,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild. “These bans have a chilling effect on what authors write about, and they damage authors’ reputations by creating the false notion that there is something unseemly about their books. Yet, these same books have edified young people for decades, expanding worlds and fostering self-esteem and empathy for others. We all lose out when authors’ truths are censored.”
HB 1069’s book removal provisions violate the Supreme Court test, articulated in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), evaluating media content for obscenity by reviewing works as a whole for their literary, artistic, political, and scientific value, and extended to minors in Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205 (1975). The lawsuit focuses on restoring the discretion of trained educators to evaluate books holistically to avoid harm to students who will otherwise lose access to a wide range of viewpoints.
The plaintiffs are represented in the lawsuit by Fred Sperling, Adam Diederich, Kirstie Brenson, Meera Gorjala, and Devin Ross of ArentFox Schiff LLP and David Karp of Carlton Fields.
The lawsuit follows recent legal action by Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks against Iowa public officials, challenging the book-banning provisions of Senate File 496 (SF496). Penguin Random House first filed the Iowa lawsuit in November 2023, and is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed with PEN America against the
Escambia County (Florida) School Board over books that have been unconstitutionally removed.
Contact: Gabrielle Gambrell, Chief Communications Officer, Hachette Book Group gabrielle.gambrell@hbgusa.com
Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, is dedicated to its mission to ignite a universal passion for reading by creating books for everyone. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people globally, is owned by Bertelsmann. With more than 300 imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- German- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With over 16,000 new titles, and more than 700 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House’s publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors.
HarperCollins Publishers is the second largest consumer book publisher in the world, with operations in 15 countries. With more than 200 years of history and 120+ branded imprints around the world, HarperCollins publishes approximately 10,000 new books every year in 16 languages and has a print and digital catalog of more than 200,000 titles. Writing across dozens of genres, HarperCollins authors include winners of the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, and the Man Booker Prize. HarperCollins, headquartered in New York, is a subsidiary of News Corp (Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and can be visited online at corporate.harpercollins.com.
Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading U.S. general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Company, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Orbit, and Workman Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to other publishing companies. Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize and other major honors.
We are committed to diversity in our company and our publishing programs, and to fostering a culture of inclusion for all our employees and authors. We are proud to be part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest trade and educational publisher. Visit hachettebookgroup.com to learn more about HBG imprints. For updated news follow HBG on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X.com, and YouTube.
Macmillan Publishers is the U.S. trade company that is part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned group of media companies headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Holtzbrinck Publishing Group’s publishing companies include prominent imprints around the world that publish a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and formats.
U.S. publishers include Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, The St. Martin’s Publishing Group, and Tor Publishing Group. In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, companies in the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group publish under the Pan Macmillan name. The German publishing company, Holtzbrinck Deutsche Buchverlage, includes among its imprints S. Fischer, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Rowohlt, and Droemer Knaur. us.macmillan.com
Simon & Schuster, a global leader in general interest publishing, is dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for readers of all ages, and in all printed, digital and audio formats. Its distinguished roster of authors includes many of the world’s most popular and widely recognized writers, and winners of the most prestigious literary honors and awards. It is home to numerous well-known imprints and divisions such as Simon & Schuster, Scribner, Atria Books, Gallery Books, Adams Media, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and Simon & Schuster Audio and international companies in Australia, Canada, India, the United Kingdom, and VBK in the Netherlands and Belgium. It proudly brings the works of its authors to readers in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.
Sourcebooks is a thriving entrepreneurial company that brings extraordinary authors to readers in dynamic, data-driven ways. We create books that transcend categories and defy odds, and we have been honored with hundreds of national bestsellers and awards. We are a company of enthusiastic book lovers passionate about connecting books to readers in new and innovative ways. Story by story, book by book, we have changed more than 300 million lives. Join us as we change 300 million more.
ArentFox Schiff LLP
With more than 600 lawyers and policy professionals, ArentFox Schiff LLP represents corporations, governments, private individuals, and trade associations. ArentFox Schiff has offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, and the firm provides strategic legal counsel to clients that range from Fortune 500 corporations and start-ups, to trade associations and foreign governments. As one of the most diverse general practice law firms in the country, ArentFox Schiff has roots in government service, a focus on legal excellence, and a commitment to the administration of justice. ArentFox Schiff has earned the distinction of being considered a premier law firm from The American Lawyer, Chambers USA, and Legal 500.
Carlton Fields
Carlton Fields has more than 330 attorneys and government and financial services consultants serving clients from offices in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C. The firm is known for its national litigation practice, including class action defense, trial practice, white-collar representation, and high-stakes appeals; its insurance practice, including life and financial lines, property and casualty, reinsurance, and title insurance; its regulatory practice; and its handling of sophisticated business transactions and corporate counseling for domestic and international clients.