Six big-name publishers sue Ron DeSantis’ Florida over “unconstitutional” book-banning law

Six major publishers have sued Florida over H.B. 1069, a 2023 law that allows anyone to get any book removed from a school library simply by challenging it over “sexual conduct.” The law has resulted in the removal of hundreds of literary works — including a children’s book about gay penguins — often for indefinite amounts of time during the review process.

The publishers — HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks — recently filed a lawsuit against Florida officials on behalf of the Authors Guild, bestselling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult, and Angie Thomas, two students and two parents.

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“Fighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority,” the publishers wrote in a joint press statement. “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.”

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H.B. 1069, which went into effect on July 2023, requires libraries to remove any challenged books from school shelves within five days of a complaint and to keep the book unavailable until the objection is resolved. However, the law does not specify a time frame for reviewing any challenge, nor does it require librarians to return challenged books to the shelves if they are found to contain no sexual conduct. Any book found to be acceptable can then be sent for review to a state-appointed special magistrate at the school district’s expense.

“Florida H.B. 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,” the publishers added.

The books removed by the law include Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Forever by Judy Blume, at least three gay-inclusive children’s pictures books — And Tango Makes Three, Stella Brings the Family, and Daddy’s Roommate — as well as dozens of books with LGBTQ+ themes, protagonists of color, or discussions of racism, the free speech organization PEN America reported.

“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,” wrote Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild. “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.”

While a spokesperson from Florida’s Department of Education (DOE) claimed in September 2023 that “Florida does not ban books,” the DOE also revealed that approximately 300 books were removed from schools across Florida during the school year. One school district removed over 2,800 books from library shelves — including the dictionary — due to the complaints of a single individual. Another school district purged all LGBTQ+ books from its libraries and classrooms.

Failed presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has said reports of his state’s book bans are a “hoax” and maintains that the censored books are “pornographic and inappropriate materials that have been snuck into our classrooms and libraries to sexualize our students violate our state education standards.” The state’s DOE has provided conflicting guidance on how to implement the law, resulting in schools preemptively removing books rather than undergoing the time-intensive review process.

In response to the law, one San Francisco bookseller has begun sending banned books to community centers, schools, and individuals in Florida and other red states with similar book bans. Similarly, the oddity museum, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, has begun offering free banned books to Floridians, and the musician Pink began giving away thousands of banned books at her Florida tour stops.

In addition to H.B. 1069, Florida also recently passed H.B. 1467, a law that requires all school classroom and library books to be selected by a certified media specialist, and H.B. 1557, an expansion of its infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades.

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