Local publisher responds to Hawley publishing dilemma

FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2020, file photo Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., speaks during a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Hawley, says he will raise objections next week when the Congress meets to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the election, forcing House and Senate votes that are likely to delay ”but in no way alter" the final certification of Biden's win.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool, File)

When publishing giant Simon & Schuster canceled the release of Sen. Josh Hawley’s new book Thursday, the news caught the attention of a book publisher in the southeast corner of his home state who quickly offered to come to the aid of the embattled Missouri senator.

“I’m sure they (Simon & Schuster) have their reasons, but if our senator wants his book out, we have the expertise and world-wide distribution to make it happen,” stated Doug Sikes, president of Acclaim Press, a Sikeston, Mo. publisher. Sikeston is a regional commercial hub of southeast Missouri.

“A publisher has to think beyond his personal opinions and viewpoints and look at whether an author has something to say and, more importantly, do readers want to hear it?” Sikes said.

Under contract with Simon & Schuster to publish Hawley’s book The Tyranny of Big Tech, the publisher pulled the plug on the book Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Republican senator followed through on his announced intention to challenge the certification of the electoral college’s vote making official the results of the 2020 election.

Many lawmakers who announced intention to challenge the certification of electoral votes from certain states backed down after the deadly breach of the U.S. Capitol by a mob of protesters while the joint session of Congress was in progress. Hawley was one of only a handful who actually did so when the session reconvened in the evening.

Simon & Schuster cited Hawley’s actions before and during the violence as reason for cancelling the project, saying in a statement: “... we cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”

Sikes believes that the market should decide whether an author’s views should be published, not the phenomenon that has come to be called “the cancel culture.”

“If some readers don’t want to hear what Josh Hawley has to say, that’s fine. If they’re not interested, don’t buy the book. But if they are interested...”

Sikes said he hopes to discuss publishing Hawley’s book once the senator is released from his contract by Simon & Schuster.

Acclaim Press is known nationally as the leader in publishing history books for federal, state and municipal police and fire departments, including United States Marshals Service Association. They also publish regional titles such as Missouri Innovators, a compilation of biographies of noteworthy Missourians.