Authors Against Book Bans This Saturday, January 25, Authors Against Book Bans’ #ReadFreely campaign encourages readers to take a selfie at their local indie bookstore with a book that brings them joy. Post the #ReadFreely social media asset on your social media ahead of time and/or on the day to encourage your customers to participate! Recommend that they use the #ReadFreely hashtag, tag your store, and tag @AuthorsAgainstBookBans to maximize their reach on their platform of choice. This Week in Book Challenges: January 15–21 An Arkansas case, in which an incarcerated person charges first amendment violations over limits on book access, was heard on appeal by the Eighth Circuit. In Connecticut, a lawmaker has been targeted with online opprobrium for introducing common sense anti-book ban legislation; meanwhile, a group of Darien parents got a book about immigrant family separation removed from a suggested reading list for ideological reasons. Once again, in Georgia, Cobb County just can’t! Stop! Banning! Books! Their banned list has now topped 30 books. In Idaho, the effect of last year’s HB 710 is being felt in Kootenai County libraries, which are creating “adults only” rooms and have removed 140 books for review. A Maryland case regarding parents’ right to opt their children out of any instruction involving gender identity or sexual orientation will be considered by the US Supreme Court. In New York, Chappaqua Central School District is facing calls to reverse its ban on Young Palestinians Speak; the ban occurred in October. In Tennessee, Murfreesboro Schools removed It Feels Good to Be Yourself because of transphobia. In Utah, public school students will be prohibited from bringing personal copies of banned books into schools, an unnecessarily broad interpretation of an already draconian law. |
