Censorship is surging thanks to an organised rightwing minority targeting books on LGBTQ and Black characters and issues“A book is a loaded gun in the house next door,” warns a character in Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s dystopian vision of an America where books are considered so dangerous they must be incinerated. The novel appeared 70 years ago, in the aftermath of Nazi book burnings and amid McCarthyism and Soviet ideological repression. But the urge to ban books has resurged with a vengeance, with the American Library Association (ALA) recording a doubling of censorship attempts in 2022, to 1,269 across 32 states: the highest rate for decades. Pen America, which champions freedom of expression, tallied more than 2,500 cases in the last school year.These attempts are not merely more numerous but are also broadening and deepening. The decisions of school boards and districts take place in the context of politicians grasping electoral advantage and punitive yet often vaguely worded state laws on education – such as the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis’s, Stop-Woke Act. At least 10 states have passed legislation increasing parental power over library stock, or limiting students’ access. In place of spontaneous challenges to single titles come challenges to multiple titles, organised by campaign groups such as Moms for Liberty. The ALA says that 40% of attempts last year targeted 100 books or more. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2023-04-13 17:21:33 UTC ]
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Libraries across the U.S. are struggling to cover the cost of e-books, which have grown in popularity Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2024-03-12 14:54:40 UTC ]
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A Llano County librarian who refused to ban books at the direction of the board and county has filed a lawsuit with a firm making a name for themselves protecting libraries nationwide. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-03-05 15:19:15 UTC ]
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The star, whose show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has an international following, is one of the founders of a new online bookstore promoting underrepresented authors. The giveaways are part of its outreach. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-03-04 15:05:30 UTC ]
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Minnesota's HF 3782 would not only aim to end book bans in public schools and libraries but would emphasize the knowledge, training, and expertise of librarians. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-02-29 14:32:52 UTC ]
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The criticism comes after the Autauga-Prattville Public Library’s newly appointed board enacted a new policy suspending the purchase of children’s or young adult books that include "sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender discordance," a move the National Coalition Against Censorship... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-23 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The L.A. Times Book Prizes honor 66 works in 13 categories celebrating exceptional writing from authors at all stages of their careers. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-02-21 13:00:41 UTC ]
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‘What Happens Next,’ coming from Thomas Nelson in August, is the first book on the biblical end times by bestselling author and pastor Max Lucado. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-02-20 05:00:00 UTC ]
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The results are in for three surveys of more than 3,000 parents asking about their perceptions of libraries, librarians, and book bans. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-18 16:40:10 UTC ]
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On February 17, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center and the Fisher Center at Bard College will host the first-ever Eleanor Roosevelt Banned Book Awards; in addition, Judy Blume will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Bravery in Literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-18 05:00:00 UTC ]
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After a January 10 hearing, judge T. Kent Wetherell denied a motion by the Escambia County School Board to dismiss the case, suggesting that school officials cannot simply pull books they find objectionable from library shelves. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-01-11 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Your TBR has just grown by leaps and bounds, thanks to the winter 2024 YA paperback releases about to hit shelves. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2024-01-08 11:33:00 UTC ]
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This bracing anthology of Christopher Hitchens’s work for The London Review of Books is just the ticket. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2024-01-01 10:02:01 UTC ]
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A federal judge has blocked two key portions of an Iowa law that sought to ban books with sexual content from Iowa schools and to bar classroom discussion of gender identity and sexuality for students below the seventh grade. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-29 05:00:00 UTC ]
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2o24 is approaching! It’s hard to believe that 2023 is over, but a new year means new possibilities (always), new resolutions (maybe), and new books (once again, always). But it also means a new chance to pick up some excellent reads from 2023 that you might have missed when they first came out,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-22 14:01:02 UTC ]
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A federal judge is set to rule before the end of the year on two lawsuits seeking to block a controversial new Iowa law, SF 496, that would ban books with sexual content from Iowa classrooms and school libraries. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-22 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Earlier this month, Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres was banned from the Iowa City Schools. Smiley is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 17 novels, two collections of short fiction, five nonfiction books, and eight books for young adults. She spoke to The Little Hawk, the student newspaper of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2023-12-19 09:59:29 UTC ]
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PEN America has released "a cumulative data summary" of nearly 6,000 book bans in public schools, finding that shared lists of targeted books by organized political groups have led to books and authors being targeted in multiple communities across the country. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-12-14 05:00:00 UTC ]
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On Dec. 12, California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick talks about life on the road at the L.A. Times Book Club. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2023-12-12 20:24:33 UTC ]
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The publishing world made plenty of news in 2023, but not only because of the books themselves Continue reading at ABC News
[ ABC News | 2023-12-08 14:55:07 UTC ]
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