Alana Hadid, Jenan Matari pull Palestine book from Random House after dispute over editorial changes

Months of disagreements over the manuscript ultimately led Hadid and Matari to terminate the agreement in September

Alana Hadid and author Jenan Matari have withdrawn their forthcoming book about Palestinian history from Penguin Random House following a dispute over editorial changes they say misrepresented their work. The book, Displacement and the Palestinian American Story, was intended to introduce young readers to Palestinian history, the Nakba, Israeli occupation and the experiences of the Palestinian diaspora.

The authors signed a deal with Random House Children's Books in November 2024, with the book planned as part of the publisher's Race to the Truth series of nonfiction titles for children. However, months of disagreements over the manuscript ultimately led Hadid and Matari to terminate the agreement in early September 2026, ahead of the book's scheduled release. They plan to publish it through Interlink Books, a Palestinian-owned US publisher, next year. 

The dispute centred on passages addressing the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel and the broader historical context of Palestinian resistance. According to the authors, Random House added a sentence stating that the attacks violated international law, despite their objections that the change contradicted their analysis and had not been approved by them.

The publisher also proposed additional context addressing how human rights organisations and commentators have characterised the attacks. Hadid and Matari argued that these interventions altered the narrative they intended to present. They said their aim was to examine October 7 within the longer history of Palestinian displacement and repression, rather than minimise the harm caused by the attacks. 

Other disagreements involved references to Jewish identity in descriptions of Zionist militias involved in the destruction of Palestinian villages during the 1948 Nakba. The authors objected to suggestions that the word “Jewish” be removed in certain passages, arguing that historical accuracy should remain central to the manuscript.

Hadid, the older sister of models Gigi and Bella Hadid, said the publishing process had made it clear that the book could not be published in the form the authors intended.

“It became clear that Penguin was never actually going to allow us just to write the book we wanted to write,” Hadid said, criticising the publisher's handling of the project. 

Random House defended its editorial process, describing revisions and discussions as a standard part of publishing. A spokesperson said the publisher had sought to ensure that readers aged 10 and older had sufficient information to understand the subject matter and engage thoughtfully with the issues raised.

The publisher also said that the digital advance copies circulated to industry contacts were marked as uncorrected and were not final versions. It maintained that it would not proceed with a book the authors were uncomfortable publishing and supported their decision to take the manuscript elsewhere. 

The book was intended to explore Palestinian history through both historical analysis and the authors' family experiences. Hadid's grandparents were displaced from Safed and became refugees in Syria, while Matari's family history also includes displacement connected to the events of 1948.

The authors hoped the book would address what they described as the absence of Palestinian perspectives in children's education. Their manuscript also examined the rise of Zionism, the relationship between the United States and Israel, and the experiences of Palestinians living under military occupation.

The fallout has also affected the wider Race to the Truth series. Saira Rao, who co-created the collection with Regina Jackson, said she objected to the way the Palestine book had been handled and would not pursue future instalments with Random House. The series has previously covered subjects including slavery, Indigenous history and the exclusion of Chinese Americans.

Interlink Books is now preparing to publish Displacement and the Palestinian American Story in 2027, giving Hadid and Matari an alternative route to bring their account of Palestinian history to young readers. 

The dispute highlights broader tensions in publishing over editorial control, historical interpretation and the representation of marginalised communities. For Hadid and Matari, withdrawing the book was a necessary step to preserve the narrative they had set out to tell, even at the cost of abandoning a deal with one of the world's largest publishing groups.