Several book publishers have joined with parents and authors to sue the state of Florida over House Bill 1069, the ironically titled bill that, among other things, restricts books in school libraries that depict or describe “sexual content.” Hundreds of titles have been banned across the state since the bill became law in July 2023, according to a press release issued by the publishers.
Penguin joins with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster as plaintiffs in the suit, along with two parents, two students and a list of authors that includes Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult and Angie Thomas.
“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,” said Dan Novack, VP and associate general counsel for PRH. “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.”
Today’s LOL moment comes in the form of a statement from Nathalia Medina, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Education. “There are no books banned in Florida,” she told the Washington Post. “Sexually explicit material and instruction are not suitable for schools.” The Miami New Times has a list of the books that have been banned in Florida since 2021 through June of this year. The extensive list by school district includes several graphic novels, including Flamer, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Drama and Gender Queer: A Memoir.
It’s too recent to be on that list, but another book that has been banned in Florida’s Brevard School District is Shō Harusono’s Sasaki and Miyano, a boy’s love manga that does not include sexual content, but does include storylines featuring LGBTQ+ characters. According to Anime News Network, someone in the district challenged the book’s inclusion in the schools’ libraries on the grounds that “sexual orientation should not be encouraged, suggested or implanted” in youth. The district’s review committee had recommended to keep the manga on shelves after determining it didn’t violate Florida law, but the school board voted 3-to-2 in favor of banning the book anyway.
[Related: It’s Still Censorship, Even If It’s Not a Book Ban]
Publishers | IDW has laid off four more employees, including co-publisher Mark Doyle and Top Shelf marketing manager Holly Atchison. The layoffs follow the staff cuts from last year, where almost 40% of the company was let go. Tara McCrillis, who served as co-publisher with Doyle after receiving a promotion last year, remains as the sole publisher.
Doyle, a former DC and Vertigo editor, joined IDW in 2021 and spearheaded their IDW Originals line before being promoted to co-publisher after Nachie Marsham was laid off last year.
Publishers | DSTLRY co-founder David Steinberger reflects on the company’s first year of publishing.
Legal | Webtoon is targeting piracy sites, and have obtained a subpoena from a Texas federal court requiring the Internet company Cloudflare to provide the webcomics giant with information on of websites displaying copyrighted Webtoon content.
Interviews | At Comic Book Yeti, Alex Breen talks with Declan Shalvey about his upcoming run writing The Terminator for Dynamite Entertainment.
Profiles | The Huntingdon (Pennsylvania) Daily News profiles Ant Story creator Jay Hosler after being nominated in this year’s Harvey Awards.
Profiles | IndyWeek profiles cartoonist and activist Ellen O’Grady about her book How Are We to Live? Comics for a Free Palestine and the daily comics she does on the tragic war in Gaza.
Commentary | Writing for NPR, Tahneer Oksman reviews Einstein in Kafkaland by Ken Krimstein.
Commentary | Writing for The Comics Journal, Marc Sobel looks at a “lost” Alan Moore story, “I Can Hear the Grass Grow.” Published shortly after Watchmen, the short story appeared in Heartbreak Hotel, a music magazine, and Moore both wrote and drew the story.
Commentary | This one is more comics-tangent, but Charles Yu has an excellent piece at Literary Hub about The Fortress of Solitude author, former Omega the Unknown writer and huge comics fan Jonathan Lethem.
Awards | The first-ever American Manga Awards were presented at the end of last month. Winners include Delicious in Dungeon for best continuing manga series, DRCL midnight children for best new manga and Stephen Kohler for best translator, for his work on Witch Hat Atelier.