Today we would like to feature four author videos for the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out!

David Levithan, author of many banned/challenged novels including Boy Meets Boy, challenges those who would truly judge a book by its cover, and praises the individuals who stand up for intellectual freedom.

Anthony Shaffer, author of Operation Dark Heart, discusses the circumstances surrounding the publication of his book.

Karin Slaughter, author of Fallen, discusses why books should not be banned. Karin also is the founder of the SaveTheLibraries project, which has to date raised more than $50,000 for the DeKalb County (Georgia) Library Foundation.

Amy Sonnie, editor of Revolutionary Voices: A Multicultural Queer Youth Anthology and librarian in Oakland, CA, reads a passage from this banned anthology. Revolutionary Voices is the ninth most frequently challenged book of 2010.

We hope you will continue to post videos on YouTube! For more information on the Virtual Read-Out, please click here.