Those challenges have resulted in the removal of hundreds of books, including best-sellers like Thomas’s “The Hate U Give,” Picoult’s “19 Minutes,” and Green’s “Looking for Alaska.”
Florida book bans have also included titles of classic novels and nonfiction reads like “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, and many more.
A recent PEN America study found that 72% of book objections in the U.S. came from Florida in the first half of 2024.
With all of this in mind, the lawsuit argues: Florida has a censorship problem.
“Censorship, in the form of book bans, is a direct threat to democracy and our constitutional rights, as well as our mission to create books for everyone,” Penguin Random House’s website states.
“That’s why we’re defending books in court.”
The lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, August 29, alleges that the law’s book removal requirements — which require schools to remove books that contain anything that can be construed as “sexual conduct,” — are unconstitutional, positing that it violates a Supreme Court decision from 1973.
This decision — Miller v. California — found that media containing obscene material should be reviewed for “literary, artistic, political, and scientific value,” in their entirety.
Green, whose blockbuster books “Looking for Alaska” and “The Fault in Our Stars,” have been challenged across the country for their inclusion of sexual content, has called these challenges “heartbreaking” and “political theater.”
The author went toe to toe with officials in his home state of Indiana last year when the aforementioned titles were moved from the “young adult” to “adult” sections of public libraries.
“I believe very strongly in the freedom of expression and in teenagers’ rights to read, and I feel very strongly that other parents shouldn’t have any say in what my kids get to read,” he told The New York Times last August. “As long as that fight goes on, I feel obligated to lend my voice to it.”
Green joins the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit who hope to “restore the discretion of trained educators” in deciding what reading materials should be included in school libraries.
“As publishers dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and the right to read, the rise in book bans across the country continues to demand our collective action,” the publishers said in a joint statement.
“Fighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority. 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.”
Indeed, Penguin Random House and associates has made this priority clear, also filing a lawsuit fighting book bans in Iowa last November.
Green, Picoult, and Halse Anderson are also part of the lawsuit against the state of Iowa. They are joined by author Malinda Lo, the Iowa State Education Association, three teachers, a high school student, and a parent.
“Our mission of connecting authors and their stories to readers around the world contributes to the free flow of ideas and perspectives that is a hallmark of American Democracy — and we will always stand by it,” Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, said in a statement at the time of the Iowa lawsuit.
“We know that not every book we publish will be for every reader, but we must protect the right for all Americans, including students, parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians to have equitable access to books, and to continue to decide what they read,” Malaviya continued.
In December 2023, a federal judge granted the publishers’ request to temporarily block two key provisions of the Iowa bill, noting that it likely violated the First Amendment.
Advocates hope for similar success in their battle for the sanctity of books in Florida.