Palestine book by Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari pulled from Random House before release
Authors withdraw book planned for young readers after disputes with editors over characterizations of 7 October A book on Palestine for young readers was pulled at Penguin Random House just before its scheduled release, following editorial disputes between the publisher and the book’s Palestinian American authors over their account of Palestinian history. In November 2024, Random House Children’s Books, a division…
Key points
- Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari withdrew their Palestine children's book from Random House over editorial disputes.
- The dispute centered on a Random House edit about the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks.
- The authors plan to release the book through Interlink Books instead.
A Palestine book for young readers by Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari was pulled from Random House Children's Books just before its scheduled September release. The publisher signed the deal in November 2024, but the authors withdrew the manuscript in early September after months of disputes over edits, including a passage on the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.
The book, titled Displacement and the Palestinian American Story, would have been the eighth installment in the Race to the Truth series for readers ages 10 to 13. Hadid is a philanthropist and activist and the older sister of models Bella and Gigi; Matari is an author and communications strategist.
Dispute over 7 October passage
According to Hadid and Matari, who provided the Guardian with the draft manuscript and email excerpts, the authors and publisher disagreed for months about language in the book. The writers' manuscript argued that people under colonial domination have the right to resist, but Random House urged them to include arguments that the attacks that day violated international law. An editor added the line: "These actions were a violation of international law."
The authors objected, saying the insertion contradicted their analysis and violated their contract. Random House suggested adding a publisher's note and changing the age range to 14+, or letting the authors take the book elsewhere and keep their advance. The authors withdrew the book in early September.
It became clear that Penguin was never actually going to allow us just to write the book we wanted to write
— Alana Hadid
Publisher response and next steps
A Random House spokesperson said the process "followed our standard bookmaking procedures" and that the publisher supported the authors' decision to pull the book. The spokesperson said the company remains committed to bringing the Palestinian perspective to young readers and that another Race to the Truth book is on track for 2028.
The authors now plan to release the book through Interlink Books, a Palestinian-owned US publisher. A co-creator of the Race to the Truth series said she objected to the treatment of Displacement and would not pursue future installments with Random House.
