Sen. Josh Hawley finds new publisher after Simon & Schuster dropped book
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s forthcoming book will now be published by conservative publishing house Regnery Publishing after it was dropped by Simon & Schuster earlier this month following the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol building.
Regnery will publish Hawley’s book, titled “The Tyranny of Big Tech,” in the spring, according to a news release from the publisher.
The Missouri senator has fielded a wave of backlash in the days since January 6, when he and other Republicans in Congress raised objections to the counting of some Electoral College votes for Joe Biden, pushing false claims of voter fraud that were echoed by members of the mob incited by President Donald Trump.
Just one day after the riot took place, Simon & Schuster announced that it would no longer publish Hawley’s book. “After witnessing the disturbing, deadly insurrection that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster has decided to cancel publication of Senator Josh Hawley’s forthcoming book,” the company said in a statement.
“We did not come to this decision lightly,” the publisher added. “As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”
Hawley responded at the time by calling the move “Orwellian,” and claiming it was a “direct assault on the First Amendment” even though the First Amendment pertains to government restrictions on free speech and not the decisions of private companies.
That message was echoed by Regnery’s president and publisher, Thomas Spence, who wrote in a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: “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.”
“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,” he said.
Several major companies also announced they were halting donations to Hawley and other Republicans who objected to the Electoral College votes, including Blue Cross Blue Shield and Citigroup. And luxury hotel chain Loews Hotel Group has since canceled an upcoming fundraiser for Hawley, saying it’s opposed to “all who supported and incited” the deadly riot at the Capitol.
In the forthcoming book, Hawley is set to argue major tech companies “represent the gravest threat to American liberty since the monopolies of the Gilded Age,” according to an archived description posted on Simon & Schuster’s website.
