Stephen King’s novel “It” has been withdrawn from sale following complaints about the depiction of LGBT relationships.

Last week it emerged that the 1986 novel by the American author is being withdrawn from sale on Russian online marketplaces and in bookshops.

The general director of AST publishing house, Tatyana Gorskaya, told TASS that the print run of the book was recalled following complaints about the depiction of queer relationships:

“There was an appeal—and the Russian Book Union conducted a preliminary examination. What were the complaints about? Violation of current legislation.”

King’s novel contains mention of LGBTQ+ people, a scene of an orgy involving teenagers, and an episode depicting the beating of a gay man.

Gorskaya also confirmed that books are now being checked for banned topics using AI tools. AST is currently examining the novel:

“Fortunately, we now have the opportunity to use artificial intelligence to check published books. We started using these technologies just in the past few days. Of course, the final verdict is always delivered by a human expert.”

Based on the results of the examination, AST will decide on appropriate labelling for the book in line with Russian law, and if there are “serious, unacceptable discrepancies,” the publisher will ask the rights holder for permission to edit the text.

In September, the StraightForward project reported that Russian publishers have started checking all books for “potential legal violations” using AI. Now, once editors receive a text from the author or rights holder, they are required to submit it for an AI check. If the neural network detects “risks,” these are reviewed and the text may be edited.

The removal of Stephen King’s novel from shops continues a 2025 trend of mounting state pressure on bookshops and publishers. According to OVD-Info, at least 20 administrative cases concerning “LGBT propaganda” have been brought to court against people in the book sector this year.

In April, officials from the prosecutor’s office visited the “Podpisnye Izdaniya” bookshop in St Petersburg and demanded that books mentioning LGBTQ+ issues be taken off the shelves. In May, criminal cases were opened against three staff members of the Popcorn Books and Individuum publishing houses for selling books featuring queer relationships. They were charged under the article on involvement with an extremist organisation (part 3, article 282.2 of the Criminal Code) and placed under house arrest.

OVD-Info has reported on other ways book industry workers have been pressured.