B&N Sued In Virginia

Book Riot is reporting that Virginia state delegate and lawyer Tim Anderson and Republican Congressional candidate Tommy Altman are suing Barnes & Noble in Virginia Beach Circuit Court to stop sales of fantasy A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, calling passages that include sexual language “obscene.”

Anderson claims the court found “probable cause that the books… are obscene to unrestricted viewing by minors.” He seeks an injunction to stop B&N, and Virginia Beach schools, from selling or loaning those titles to minors without parental permission.

This may not be the last such legal challenge; Anderson says, “We are in a major fight. Suits like this can be filed all over Virginia. There are dozens of books. Hundreds of schools.”

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.