Palestine book co-written by Alana Hadid pulled from Random House just before release

Hadid and Matari 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 of Penguin Random House, signed the book deal with Alana Hadid, a philanthropist, activist, and older sister of models Bella and Gigi, and Jenan Matari, an author and communications strategist. The book was promoted for release in September this year.

The authors, both influential social media commentators, drafted a manuscript about the history of Palestine, Israeli occupation, Palestinian resistance, and the diaspora, interwoven with references to their own families’ stories of displacement. However, the writers withdrew their book after objecting to edits by Random House that they said sanitized and misrepresented their views, which they claimed were introduced after they thought the book had been finalized.

A Random House spokesperson stated that the process “followed our standard bookmaking procedures” and that the publisher ultimately supported the authors’ decision to pull the book. Displacement and the Palestinian American Story would have been the eighth installment in Random House’s Race to the Truth series, an ongoing collection of nonfiction books for youth ages 10 to 13. The books aimed to provide the “true story of American history,” written by members of marginalized groups telling the histories of their peoples.

A co-creator of the project expressed her objection to the treatment of Displacement and stated she would not pursue future installments in the series with the publisher. Hadid remarked, “It became clear that Penguin was never actually going to allow us just to write the book we wanted to write. It says a lot that they’re willing to tank an entire very powerful series that helps children learn history, just because of one book about Palestine.”

According to Hadid and Matari, who provided the Guardian with the draft manuscript and email excerpts of their communications with Random House, the authors and the publisher engaged in months of disagreements about language in the book, including a passage on the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. The writers’ manuscript argued that people under “colonial domination” have the “right to resist,” but Random House urged them to incorporate arguments that the attacks that day violated international law. At an impasse, the authors withdrew their book in early September.

The authors now plan to release it through Interlink Books, a Palestinian-owned US publisher. A Random House Children’s Books spokesperson mentioned that they have other forthcoming books on Palestine, stating, “We remain committed to bringing the Palestinian perspective to young readers.” The spokesperson also noted that another Race to the Truth book remained on track for 2028 publication.

The dispute over the book comes amid disproportionate scrutiny and censorship of work by and on behalf of Palestinians. The conflict has highlighted the wide gap between narratives surrounding 7 October, which could not be bridged in a book to be distributed by a mainstream publisher. Matari stated, “I believe it was a revolutionary book, which is why it was under so much scrutiny. They continued to try to sanitize our history because they didn’t want to make certain communities uncomfortable. But decolonial history is supposed to make you uncomfortable.”