Activists rally for publisher to put money where its mouth is and cancel Josh Hawley’s big book deal

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In light of Wednesday’s absolutely chilling armed insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, Democrats and progressives are calling for super right-wing Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri to resign. And if not, to be expelled from office. Why? Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words. In this case, in an image that has since gone viral, Hawley appears to be raising a fist of solidarity toward the crowd of Trump supporters prior to their rioting invasion. We also know that Hawley, among a number of other Republican enablers, wanted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and that he positively adores Donald Trump. Media editorials, as well as elected officials, have started pointing out that Hawley essentially has “blood on his hands” and urging him to resign.

As covered by The New York Times, people are also calling on Simon & Schuester to take a stand. What does a book publisher have to do with this? Well, Hawley has a book deal through the top publishing house set for release in June 2021. What’s the title? Oh, you know, just The Tyranny of Big Tech. The “tyranny” word choice is particularly mind-boggling given recent events, but no matter the subject, these are the last people who should be getting book deals. And in fact, that sentiment goes for the whole outgoing Trump administration. Let’s look at what the conversation on social media is like below.

First of all, if you feel like you vaguely remember Simon & Schuester facing public pressure over a political book deal in the past, you’re probably thinking of the publisher’s former deal with right-wing Milo Yiannopoulos. Thankfully, after much public outcry, the publisher did drop Yiannopoulos, who actually sued them over it, though he’s since dropped that effort. Let’s hope Simon & Schuester makes the same choice with Hawley. 

There’s also the related issue of who gets a platform, who gets financial backing, and who doesn’t. You might remember the viral PublishingPaidMe discussion Daily Kos covered back in 2019, when famous and established marginalized writers—mainly people of color, and in fact, mostly Black writers—shared their dramatically lower advances on book deals. And these weren’t just small-scale indie operations, either; powerhouses like Roxane Gay, Alexander Chee, and Jesmyn Ward shared shockingly low numbers. Platforms—including books with huge visibility, outreach, and publicity—do matter. And it’s time to call out media creators that are quietly complicit in giving terrifying voices real power. 

Here are some powerful perspectives and calls to action from Twitter.

And what does Hawley have to say for himself now? Just this measly statement via Twitter.