Authors speak out against censorship for the Banned Books Virtual Read-out!
This year’s Banned Books Virtual Read-out has featured wonderful writers such as Stephen Chbosky, Sara Paretsky, Dr. Carmen Tafolla, Dori Hillestad Butler–not to mention the honorary co-chair and journalist extraordinaire, Bill Moyers. Today we feature a compilation video created by the Association of American Publishers (AAP). This video features various authors speaking out against censorship and book banning as part of AAP’s What Are You Reading? campaign at BookExpo America 2012. A list of all participating authors can be found below. Watch the video for their thoughts on book banning and censorship!
We also would like to feature a bookstore and library that hosted a virtual Read-Out featuring many other authors.
City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, CA caught many authors reading passages from banned or challenged books, including Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who reads from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce; and John Waters, who reads a passage from Lady Chatterley’s Lover, by D.H. Lawrence. (Note that Wednesday marked the 55th anniversary of Ferlinghetti’s acquittal in the landmark obscenity case over Allen Ginsburg’s Howl, which Ferlinghetti published.)
The Memphis Public Library in Memphis, TN invited local authors to their WYPL TV studio to read passages from their favorite banned or challenged books:
Check out the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out You Tube channel to view more videos. Also consider joining the many people who have participated in the Banned Books Virtual Read-out thus far this year by uploading a video of your own.
Happy Banned Books Week!
List of authors (in order of appearance)
Spencer Quinn, author of A Fistful of Collars (A Chet and Bernie Mystery)
Molly Ringwald, author of When It Happens to You
Chris Pavone, author of The Expats
James Meek, author The Heart Broke In
Libba Bray, author of The Diviners
Dori Hilsetead Butler, author of My Mom’s Having a Baby! Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy–the fourth most frequently challenged book of 2011
Nelson DeMille, author of The Panther
James Dashner, author of The Maze Runner trilogy
Junot Diaz, author of This is How You Lose Her
Bob Balaban, author of The Creature From the seventh Grade: Boy or Beast
Delia Ephron, author of The Lion is In
Lisa Genova, author of Love Anthony
Carla Hall, author of Cooking with Love: Comfort Food that Hugs You
Deborah Harkness, author of Shadow of Night: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy)
Jenny Han, author of We’ll Always Have Summer
Julie Kagawa, author of The Lost Prince (Iron Fey)
Joseph Kanon, author of Istanbul Passage: A Novel
Jen Lancaster, author of Jeneration X: One Reluctant Adult’s Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It’s Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner
Lois Lowry, author of Son and often banned/challenged novel The Giver
Leonard Marcus, editor of Show Me a Story: Why Picture Books Matter: Conversations with 21 of the World’s Most Celebrated Illustrators
Ridley Pearson, author of The Risk Agent
Mark Siegel, author of Sailor Twain: OR: The Mermaid in the Hudson
R.L. Stine, author of Red Rain: A Novel and the banned/challenged Goosebumps series
Catherynne Valenti, author of Deathless
Eoin Colfer, author of Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian
One thought on “Authors speak out against censorship for the Banned Books Virtual Read-out!”
Public Libraries should have the unadulterated ability to possess and offer anything and everything that has ever been printed. If you are worried about young children getting their hands on “the wrong kind” of book – that is what parents are for. Parents should keep youthful minds from adult themes, but adult minds should not be kept from anything. We have the right to speak, write, or read whatever we want in this country!! Let’s keep it that way!!