Writers and Publishing House Sue a Florida School District

Literature in the News

5-30-23

The AP is reporting on May 17, 2023, that a writer’s group, PEN America and the publishing house, Penguin Random House, are suing the Escambia County School District and Board for “violating the First Amendment through the removal of 10 books from the library shelves.”

The books removed are about race or LGBTQ+ identities and were removed at the request of a teacher, which compiled the list from a website.

The removal of books could be significant to both publishers and authors bottom-line, as “1.3% of trade market book sales” are estimated from libraries according to the website Wordsrated. Not that the lawsuit in question is motivated by profit alone.

The AP cites a statement by the CEO of Penguin Random House that “book bans like those enacted by Escambia County, are a direct threat to democracy and our Constitutional rights.”

For us at the Joseph Street Digest, this continues to echo the dystopian realties in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

#literature