The author had recently started introducing her first children's book this summer when the event cancellations started. First, a Los Angeles bookstore canceled her event after what the author described as external pressure from local community members. The employee who had booked the event declined to cancel, and the bookstore fired her. Two days later, a second staff member resigned in support.
Next was the New Jersey incident. Watchung Booksellers in the town was planning to host her subsequent event but abruptly canceled, explaining in an emailed statement it was "to ensure the security of our staff and patrons".
Root Cause for These Cancellations
Everything Grows in the grandfather's garden, a picture book about a Palestinian child learning about her heritage through her grandfather's gardening, based on his own father's traditions from Palestine.
Three thousand miles away and a few months prior, another author was traveling to the city for her first ever educational appearance for her publishing debut. Her phone rang during her flight: the educational institution had called off her appearance because of a recent article on her website where she had shared details about her relatives being lost in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza.
"I never saw myself in youth literature as a child, and I was preparing to present my book with young readers who may also lacked representation in literature either," the author stated.
Pattern of Restrictions
These experiences are representative of a wave of book restrictions that has spread through the United States since 7 October 2023, interviews with nine children's authors reveal. Event cancellations, restricted materials, and coordinated harassment campaigns have increased through schools, public libraries, and bookstores, targeting authors who have either written about Palestinian life, have supported Palestinian rights, or been affected by the backlash merely because of their visibly Muslim identity.
Among the affected writers, the pattern reinforces of an disturbing and peculiar situation: that their very existence is considered problematic, and sharing idyllic stories that represent their childhood – however innocent – can prompt coordinated efforts alleging of promoting antisemitism and division.
Research Findings on Cultural Stories
Based on 2024 research by researcher Nora Lester Murad, there have been 114 English-language children's books focusing specifically on cultural stories exist for school-aged children. Statistics show an increase in the past decade – 44% of Palestinian children's books over recent decades were released between the past five years. Yet much of this growth comes from independent publishing, with 32% of new books independently produced as traditional publishers remain reluctant gatekeepers.
"There's a clear attempt to reject the people," Matari explained. "Now that we've broken through this publishing world and there's increased representation being published, it's like … we can't stop people from accessing these narratives. So they can stop people from connecting with authors, or connecting the writers with the narratives that they create."
"Free expression isn't guaranteed to everybody in this country, particularly if you're of Palestinian heritage," she continued.
Banned Books Week
The designated period of October is Literary Freedom Week in the US and is a time designed to spotlight censored voices. However writers focusing on Palestinian themes are discovering they're at the center of a new form of book restrictions, though the books being contested don't advocate specific viewpoints or encourage division. These works present simple stories of family gardens and olive trees, of young people navigating personal identity and language, of family traditions preserved across multiple generations, leading authors to come to the conclusion that it's their existence that seems to be the provocation.
"In addition to separating us from our homeland and from our people," the author stated, "now they're trying to disconnect us from our narratives."
State Policy and Legal Measures
What started with digital complaints and last-minute cancellations is also becoming incorporated into state policy. On 7 October, California governor the official approved a pair of bills into law designed to combat prejudice and antisemitism in educational settings. One new law establishes an regulatory body and an oversight position, and mandates districts to investigate and implement changes when "problematic material is used in classrooms or staff training".
Worry present in the world of children authors is that the broad terminology could be used to label their publications and their stories as problematic, giving government authorities regulatory justification to further suppress cultural stories from schools, and possibly see these restrictions grow in additional regions and various institutions.
Author Experiences of Restrictions
Recently, Hannah Moushabeck received a call about an upcoming speaking engagement at North Carolina State University in the city, where she had been invited to speak about her publication Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine and the restriction efforts against it. University administrators told her that her publication contravened the state's regulatory requirements and neutrality law because it "doesn't show multiple perspectives to the narrative". Moushabeck could participate in the appearance, officials told her, but she was not permitted to reading from her book.
However, this wasn't the first experience with restrictions this author had to endure. Moushabeck said she's had five visits cancelled since 2023 and the concerns became physical at her nephew's elementary school in the location last year. "I was required to come at the institution at six o'clock and go in through the rear entrance with a security escort," the author said. An acquaintance accompanied her for extra security while institutional safety and police remained on standby. "I recall having to conduct my presentation and maintain composure on my demeanor and keep incredibly calm, because I really didn't want my nephew to see that we were at risk."
Further Examples of Restrictions
At Germantown Friends, a educational establishment in the city, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow was planned for an full-day appearance to launch her publication Sister Friend – a tale about friendship between a Black girl and a Muslim classmate who wears a hijab. A couple days before the recent appearance, administrators declared a postponement.
"Officials believed that in the period that we were in, it was a protective measure," the author remembered. What followed was an extended period of rearranging without firm dates, ending with cancellation in February 2024 after around 150 community members demanded the school remain "a safe space for particular students".
"I felt like the microscope was on me as once they recognized that, well, this is a writer of particular background and she expressed views about Palestine," the author, who practices her faith, explained. "You have to prove that you're innocent of being an antisemite if you have any pro-Palestinian commentary. Even mentioning, 'Here's a link to donate to Palestinian kids' – that is considered political."
Social Media Consequences
Another writer faced similar targeting last year when multiple planned school visits were canceled, including one in the Sharon city school district shortly before the event.
The author, who creates youth literature and children's stories, was planned to speak about her work when parents began contacting the institution with complaints after reviewing promotional materials. But the subject matter of her work {wasn't the issue|wasn
