Russian Court Bans Links to Adam Silvera's Book 'More Happy Than Not'

The Lefortovo District Court in Moscow, Russia, has ruled as prohibited information links to American author Adam Silvera’s novel More Happy Than Not on four websites. The decision, issued at the request of prosecutors on May 19, 2026, comes into effect on June 19.

The Moscow prosecutor’s office found pages featuring the book on the websites HomeRead.net, Flibusta, ChitaemOnline, and Readli (the page has already been deleted from the latter). The court agreed with the prosecution’s arguments and ordered the web addresses to be blocked.

The novel More Happy Than Not tells the story of a teenager who falls in love with his male friend and, due to internal conflict, tries to become heterosexual using future technology.

Blocking links to the novel is part of a broad censorship campaign in Russia. It relies on a law banning so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations,” which allows authorities to fine sellers and remove LGBT-related materials from circulation.

In 2025, major Russian publisher Eksmo independently asked bookstores to remove 48 book titles from their shelves, including Silvera’s novel. Later, the book appeared on a list of items banned from sale on the Megamarket platform. The publication was also featured in an “LGBT propaganda” case against the well-known independent bookstore Falanster in Moscow.