Despite heavy criticism, publisher Simon & Schuster is moving forward with plans to release a 2017 book by the conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, which it says will be about free speech.

Yiannopoulos writes for Breitbart News, considered by many as a platform for the “alt-right” movement, an offshoot of conservatism that mixes racism and populism and has risen to prominence alongside the rise to the presidency of Donald Trump. Former Brietbart chief executive Steve Bannon is a close adviser to the president-elect.

Yiannopoulos’s Twitter account was suspended earlier this year after a series of racially insensitive tweets to Ghostbusters actress Leslie Jones, who is black. Yiannopoulos has denied he is a white nationalist.

The Hollywood Reporter reported on Thursday that Yiannopoulos was paid $250,000 for the book. Simon & Schuster, which is owned by New York media company CBS, said it does not discuss book advances.

The Chicago Review of Books announced on Twitter that it would not review any Simon & Schuster books next year because of the publisher’s “disgusting validation of hate”.

In an emailed statement, it said that 15 of the more than 300 books it wrote about last year were Simon & Schuster imprint books. In their place, the Chicago Review of Books said it would choose 15 books from independent and small publishers.

While many others inside and outside the publishing industry criticized Simon & Schuster publicly, the book, which is available for pre-order, soared to No 1 on Amazon.com’s bestseller list on Friday.

Simon & Schuster said it does not condone discrimination or hate speech and said the book, titled Dangerous, will be about free speech and will be published in March.

“We have always published books by a wide range of authors with greatly varying, and frequently controversial opinions,” Simon & Schuster said, asking readers to “withhold judgment until they have had a chance to read the actual contents of the book”.

Dangerous will be published by Simon & Schuster imprint Threshold Editions, which focuses on books by conservative voices, including Rush Limbaugh and President-elect Trump.

Danielle Henderson, a writer whose memoir is expected to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2018, said on Twitter: “I’m looking at my @simonschuster contract, and unfortunately there’s no clause for ‘what if we decide to publish a white nationalist’.”



A representative for Henderson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Asked for comment, Yiannopoulos referred to his Facebook post about the book.

