Overview

• Booksmith announced on Instagram on June 23 that it will no longer stock J.K. Rowling’s books in protest of her creation of the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund, which supports legal efforts to restrict transgender rights.
• The store urged fans to purchase used copies of the Harry Potter series or explore a curated selection of alternative fantasy titles by authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Philip Pullman and Kwame Mbalia.
• Local authors like Charlie Jane Anders praised Booksmith’s decision and the shop reported a surge in donations to its Books Not Bans fundraiser, while some customers accused the store of censoring literature.
• Rowling, whose net worth exceeds $1 billion, has pledged personal wealth to the J.K. Rowling Women’s Fund to provide legal aid for cases challenging transgender-inclusive policies in women’s spaces.
• Booksmith’s action underscores a broader shift of booksellers aligning inventory with community values and reignites debate over whether retailers should vet authors’ political stances when curating titles.