Free Expression

The success of Young Adult books has a lot of people celebrating, but it has outraged others. To draw attention to the growing number of challenges to YA titles, the sponsors of Banned Books Week have chosen to make YA books the focus of this year’s celebration.

Tickets are on sale now for the Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception at BEA. The event, which this year honors author Judy Blume, will auction off hundreds of works of art donated by some of the top artists and illustrators working in the book industry today.

CBC and WNDB partner on internship program; GLIBA, MIBA bestseller lists debut; Shortlists announced for 2015 PEN Literary Awards; SIBA Book Award finalists announced; ALA releases list of most frequently challenged books of 2014; S&S’s Wendy Sheanin promoted; New Zealand booksellers and retailers launch eFairness campaign

Chris Finan, director of the American Booksellers for Free Expression, shares his own thoughts and opinions on the book Guantanamo Diary and the important debate it can stir about whether torture is ever justified.

The June 1 deadline for reauthorizing the Patriot Act got a lot of attention last Sunday night when comedian John Oliver, the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, extended his show to accommodate a 33-minute discussion of the law that included an interview with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

PEN to honor Charlie Hebdo staff, Penguin Random House CEO, and Tom Stoppard; James Beard Foundation announces Book Award nominees; Diversity, free speech discussed at Annual Meeting of Association of American Publishers; Winners of 2015 Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction announced; Ingram Publisher Services adds five new clients

A complaint from a parent in Wallingford, Connecticut, has prompted the district’s superintendent of schools to remove Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower from the required reading list for high school freshmen.

On Wednesday, ABFE joined a letter signed by more than 40 civil liberties and human rights groups, trade associations, and major Internet and technology companies that urges President Obama and Congressional leaders to end the collection of the personal information of millions of Americans by the NSA.

Man Booker International Prize finalists announced; HarperCollins unveils Go Set a Watchman cover; Ferguson librarian to receive Lemony Snicket Noble Librarians Prize; English PEN Hessell-Tiltman 2015 shortlist announced; Russian publisher to receive International Freedom to Publish Award

As Florida’s only feminist bookstore, Wild Iris Books goes well beyond its four walls to create a place for social, cultural, and educational events that celebrate diversity and originality.

The 21st Annual Children’s Book Art Auction and Reception at BEA will honor Judy Blume, the pioneering author who helped inspire a new candor in children’s books by daring to write about sex and other “adult” topics that trouble kids. Blume will also be recognized for her fight for the free speech rights of young adult readers.

The American Booksellers for Free Expression  has joined a protest over an orchestra’s decision to cancel a performance of a piece that includes a very short excerpt from a Nazi anthem. In a separate issue, ABFE is urging President Obama to take important steps to give the public greater access to government information.

In the first installment of a new monthly column on free speech issues, ABFE Director Chris Finan expresses his opinions about the toll on our freedoms in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and voices his hope that moving forward we will not be governed by panic.

At Winter Institute 10, Publishers Weekly presented ABFE with a check for $13,600, a portion of the money raised by PW's Tribute to Freedom of Expression in its January 19 issue.

The American Booksellers for Free Expression is supporting an effort to overturn a new Pennsylvania law that gives victims of violent crime the power to silence the speech of the criminals who hurt them.