How to Fight Back Against Book Bans

PEN America recently reported that the number of book bans in 2023 will surpass the 2500 books banned in 2022.?Further, Florida Governor 2024? and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis supports a piece of legislation in his state that, per? The Washington Post , “mandates that instructional material facing objection in public schools through 12th grade for depicting “sexual” or “pornographic” conduct be “unavailable to students until the objection is resolved.” So let me simplify this for you: If one person in a particular county in Florida objects to a book in a school library, the book will be removed without due process. There will be no review of the material; it will disappear. In 2022, book bans occurred in 138 school districts in 32 states. These districts represent 5,049 schools with a combined enrollment of nearly 4 million students (Source: PEN America).?That is a staggering statistic.

On Monday, July 17, Kelly Jensen ( Book Riot ), Dominique Cimina ( Penguin Random House ), Stephana Ferrell (Florida Freedom to Read Project), Nina Lorez Collins ( Brooklyn Public Library ), and Caroline Richmond ( We Need Diverse Books ) will discuss effective strategies that libraries, publishers, media, and others can use to push back against these alarming well-organized challenges, defend intellectual freedom, and safeguard access to diverse and challenging literary works. Find out what is really happening in the book ban movement from these catalysts for change.?The event is being hosted virtually by the Women’s Media Group. Registration is free for members and, $15 for non-members.

Moderator Kelly Jensen is an OG - she has been covering the issue of banned books for a very long time in Book Riot with her weekly censorship news updates. And she has been tirelessly advocating for actions that anyone can do to fight these bans.

Dominique Cimina will give the publisher’s perspective from one of the first publishers to pursue legal action against book banning - Penguin Random House . They joined PEN America and several authors in a lawsuit against Escambia County Public Schools in Florida. And they have created a rich toolkit of resources for folks to use against book bans.?

Stephana Ferrell is the Co-Founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project - an organization bringing together parent-led and student groups from across the state of Florida to protect every student’s right to access information and ideas. She has the grassroots experience of a leader on the ground to teach us what we can do to make a difference.

Nina Lorez Collins is Board Chair of the Brooklyn Public Library, which is a leader in giving access to banned books across the country with their Books Unbanned program. They also put together training and seminars that help fire up today’s young people about the issue of book bans and how it directly impacts their lives. Nina is also an author and Founder of The Woolfer .

Caroline Richmond is the Executive Director of We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a non-profit that is dedicated to putting more books featuring diverse characters into the hands of all readers, she is on the Advisory Board of the Little Free Library , and she is also an author. WNDB has championed diversity in publishing and is on the forefront of the fight against book bans.

All proceeds from this event support the Women's Media Group Educational Foundation.

Register by clicking the link below!

To register, please visit: ?https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5325775