Simon & Schuster cancels book deal with Sen. Josh Hawley after Capitol Hill riots
GOP Sen. Josh Hawley says he will take Simon & Schuster to court after the publisher says they cannot support the lawmaker's 'role in what became a dangerous threat'; Fox News contributor Joe Concha reacts.
Regnery Publishing president Thomas Spence says "blacklisting" conservative authors is all the rage in the publishing industry – but he won’t let the un-American trend impact his company.
Simon & Schuster decided not to publish an upcoming book from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., following the pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. As a result, Spence penned an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal headlined "Blacklists Are the Rage in Publishing," which explains why his company will bring out Hawley’s new book, "The Tyranny of Big Tech."
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Spence explained that many in the publishing industry have essentially declared that books written by members of Trump’s administration shouldn't see the light of day.
"Some 250 self-described 'publishing professionals' – mostly junior employees of major houses – have issued a statement titled ‘No Book Deals for Traitors,’ a category in which they include any ‘participant’ in the Trump administration," Spence wrote.
The 250 people "oppose any Trump administration official from publishing a future book – including the outgoing president, who is rumored to be considering a memoir," according to the Independent.
"Readiness to silence someone because of who he is or whom he associates with is often called the ‘cancel culture,’ but I prefer an older term – blacklisting – whose historical associations expose the ugliness of what is going on," Spence wrote. "Not so long ago, publishing professionals would have been horrified to be accused of it. Today they compete to see who can proclaim his blacklist with the fiercest invective."
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He said Hawley "invoked his legal right to object to Congress’ certification of electoral votes" and reasonable people can disagree with him but that doesn’t mean he has to be blacklisted.
"No one can reasonably argue that he intended to incite that afternoon’s invasion of the Capitol by a lawless mob. He immediately and forcefully condemned the attack. But the next day Simon & Schuster canceled his forthcoming book," Spence wrote, noting that he would "fight back" against the practice of blacklisting authors.
"We’re proud to publish Mr. Hawley’s book, which his original publisher has made more important than ever. We don’t have to agree with everything – or anything – Mr. Hawley does. We ask only if his book is well-crafted and has something true and worthwhile to say," Spence wrote. "The answer is yes."
Simon & Schuster would have published Hawley's book in June, and now Regnery says it will be released in spring 2021. Regnery was founded in 1947 and has published authors such as William F. Buckley Jr., Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
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"The statement of the 250 ‘publishing professionals’ shows that today’s censors recognize no limits. I appeal to the real professionals of publishing, some of whom may be the bosses and mentors of those who signed that mindless rant: Remember that you are Americans. Americans argue, write, preach, campaign and vote. They don’t blacklist," Spence wrote.
Fox News’ Evie Fordham contributed to this report.