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Summary
- Simon and Schuster will not be releasing Republican Josh Hawley’s book due to recent riots at the White House.
- It is still unknown if Mr Hawley will get a book deal after this situation, but a conservative publisher Regnery might have drawn attention to the conventional book.
Famous American publisher Simon and Schuster has decided against publishing Senator Josh Hawley’s latest book, as the Senator was one of the members who sought to overturn the President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
Hawley, a Republican Senator from Missouri, is known to be Donald Trump’s close ally. He was critiqued for questioning the presidential elections, and allegedly inciting the violent riots in the US Capital.
Hawley has authored a book titled The Big Tech, which was scheduled to be published by Simon and Schuster in June this year. However, the publisher has decided not to go ahead with the book in wake of the Capitol riot.
Commenting on its move, the American publisher stated that it had not taken the decision ‘lightly’, adding:
The latest episode highlights the dilemma that mainstream publishers have to face while trying to remain impartial in a highly polarised political environment. Publishers have been known to be releasing both Democratic and Republican-written books.
However, after the latest turmoil in Washington DC, some are worried that they would not be able to justify supporting the conservative politicians, especially those who have sided with Trump and taken an inflammatory stance against the outcome of the presidential election.
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Simon & Schuster is a major publisher in the US. Bought by the Penguin Random House in November last year, it is known for releasing books related to politics. In the past year, the publisher has released several political books including the much hyped Too Much and Never Enough, written by the President Trump’s niece Mary L Trump.
Image Source: Shutterstock
After the rampage in Washington DC, some publishers have started wondering if Mr Trump’s memoir should be released, as he has been accused of fomenting violence at the White House via his Twitter account.
Whenever there is an active presidential transition of power, book publishers tend to seize the opportunity and release more political books written by the president, his cabinet, or the first lady.
However, this year was different with tumultuous events, leading the publishers to change their mind regarding the common practice, and they fear that their support for the conservatives at this time might cause a backlash.
Reconsidering and working against the initial deal is not a new thing for Simon and Schuster, as the publisher had also decided not to release Milo Yiannopoulos’s book in 2017 after facing significant pressure from the public.
What now?
It is yet to be knwon if Mr Hawley will need to return the advance payment he got for his book.
In the past, Mr Yiannopoulos filed a lawsuit against Simon and Schuster due to unproven allegations of not complying to the initial agreement but did not continue with the suit.
Meanwhile, it appears that a conservative publisher Regnery might be interested in signing a deal with Mr Hawley to publish the book that has been dropped by Simon and Schuster.
