censorship

Pride and Less Prejudice - Banned Together 2024

“Banned Together” Auction Will Help Send LGBTQ-Inclusive Books to Schools

Nonprofit Pride and Less Prejudice has donated over 16,000 LGBTQ-inclusive picture books to elementary classrooms since 2019—and if their 2024 virtual auction meets its goal, they will be able to send 1,600 more. The auction runs today through Sunday (September 26 to 29), so check out some of the amazing celebrity items you can bid on!

Open book in black and white

Actions and Resources for Banned Books Week and Beyond

All of the children’s books in my Database of LGBTQ Family Books have been effectively banned by sweeping censorship laws in some states. Many titles have also been banned by name. I’m therefore marking Banned Books Week with a look at the scope and impact of book bans—and what we can do to stop them.

2023's Top 10 Most Challenged Books

7 of 2023’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books Have LGBTQIA+ Content

Seven of the American Library Association’s annual list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books were challenged for their LGBTQIA+ content—and Gender Queer, a memoir about growing up nonbinary and asexual, topped the list for the third year in a row.

Number of Unique Titles Challenged in the U.S. by Year - American Library Association

Book Challenges Rise to Record 4,240 Titles in 2023 (and 2024 Doesn’t Look Good)

Last year saw a record 4,240 book titles challenged in schools and libraries, according to the American Library Association. This year looks set to be similarly bad, with censorship triggering firings and protest at an Alabama library—and a Virginia school reading program halted after complaints about a book that includes a nonbinary tree.

Say gay/LGBTQ Florida

Florida Students Can Now “Say Gay/LGBTQ” After Major Settlement

Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay/LGBTQ” law has been defanged. More than a dozen Florida parents, students, and teachers, plus LGBTQ organizations Equality Florida and Family Equality, who had challenged the law’s constitutionality, reached a settlement yesterday that removes the most harmful, anti-LGBTQ aspects of the legislation.

Greenville County Hughes Main Library. Photo credit: Antony-22, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

A South Carolina Library Board Restricts All Children’s Books Depicting Trans or Gender Diverse Children to Adult Section

South Carolina’s Greenville County library board voted unanimously this week to move all children’s books with trans characters or others that show gender “in ways inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex” out of the children’s section—but they adopted an amendment so books with “tomboy” characters could stay. As a “tomboy” myself, I find this appalling rather than comforting.

Stacks of books

Book Bans Up 33% Between Last Two School Years

The past two school years have seen “a mounting crisis of book bans,” according to a report released recently from PEN America. While the record number of bans is worrying in itself, just as concerning are the trends in how the bans are spreading.

Jennifer Finney Boylan. Photo credit: Dan Haar

Jennifer Finney Boylan Named President of PEN America

This week in “queer parents being awesome” is the news that author, professor, transgender advocate, and parent Jennifer Finney Boylan has been named president and chair of PEN America, the century-old organization dedicated to defending writers and free expression.

Kids' silhouette in front of books

Banned Books Week: It’s Not Just About the Books

This week marks Banned Books Week, the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) annual event highlighting the value of the freedom to read and drawing attention to the harms of censorship. With record numbers of bans across the country, the need for such awareness is greater than ever. But I’m also here to remind us: It’s about more than just the books.

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