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Council Removes Genocide Book After Complaint, Despite Act Amendment

8/20/2026

26 6 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Waverley Council removed Adam Johnson’s *How to Sell a Genocide* from library shelves after a complaint.
A survivor of the December 2025 Bondi Beach attack posted on Facebook that book distressed her.
The council said it outsources book selection and cited a recent NSW Library Act amendment to prevent bans.
The book stays in the catalogue and can still be reserved, prompting praise from Alex Ryvchin and alarm from Bart Shteinman.

History

Historical Context

After the 1989 Iranian fatwa spurred bans of Salman Rushdie’s *The Satanic Verses*, the New South Wales Library Board removed it in 1995, causing a 70 % circulation drop per the Australian Library Association. The 2025 Waverley Council’s pull of Adam Johnson’s *How to Sell a Genocide* under the 2024 NSW Library Act amendment repeats this pattern of legal change and community pressure on library holdings.

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Story summary

Waverley Council removed Adam Johnson’s *How to Sell a Genocide* from library shelves after a complaint.
A survivor of the December 2025 Bondi Beach attack posted on Facebook that book distressed her.
The council said it outsources book selection and cited a recent NSW Library Act amendment to prevent bans.
The book stays in the catalogue and can still be reserved, prompting praise from Alex Ryvchin and alarm from Bart Shteinman.

1 / 2