Jason Low is publisher and co-owner of Lee & Low Books, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the U.S. and the force behind the Diversity Baseline Survey. Here, Low issues a call to action to fellow members of the industry to focus their efforts on fighting book bans.

Since 2015, Lee & Low’s Diversity Baseline Survey datasets have become the industry standard for inclusive hiring practices and accountability. Since its inception, the survey has been repeated three times and spaced four years apart. 2026 would have marked the fourth iteration of the survey, with results released at the beginning of 2027. I regret to inform you that DBS 4.0 will be postponed until further notice. While we are proud of the contributions the survey has made and what a workforce dataset tells us about our industry, we have come to the realization that a demographic survey must take a backseat to more pressing matters. We do want to acknowledge how DBS showed the willingness of the industry to look in the mirror, despite knowing that they might not like what they saw.

As far as books for children go, the diversity movement is by and large in limbo. In the face of extreme censorship that targets diverse authors and titles, our first priority as publishers must shift toward continuing to publish and sell diverse books for children in contentious times. The second priority is to redirect the time and effort we would have spent on DBS 4.0 and channel it toward the fight to ban book bans.

Substantial damage has been done to the book ecosystem due to the major increase in book bans. While publishers have been impacted, the cascade effect has manifested itself in diverse creators not being invited to do school visits, school purchasing decisions being frozen, and librarians not being able to perform their jobs.

Author David Bowles states, “Over the past four years, book bans have dramatically reshaped my career as a children’s author. Starting in 2022, my books have been banned in districts from the Texas Hill Country to Staten Island. By 2023, I was being instructed not to mention anything LGBTQ

during school visits. In January of this year, a school canceled a middle-school appearance because of my identity.”

Teacher librarian Ayn Frazee in Portland, Ore., said that when library staff must devote significant time to book challenges, instruction suffers. “Less time is available for lessons on research skills, media literacy, and reading engagement. Some librarians are facing repeated, coordinated challenges to multiple titles at once—stretching already limited time and resources. Others are encountering pressure to remove books even outside of formal reconsideration processes, which undermines the professional guidelines that ensure fair and thoughtful decision-making in our schools.”

Author Doan Phuong Nguyen recalled, “Five minutes before a classroom visit, the teacher pulled me aside in the hallway to tell me that he didn’t think my book’s content was appropriate for his class and that he had removed references to my book from my presentation. I had a choice: either walk away and disappoint the waiting students or completely alter my presentation and censor any mention of Mèo and Bé and its plot. I ended up giving a generic presentation about author life, writing, and plotting. I never, ever thought that a teacher would do this, moments before I had to give a presentation in their classroom. No author deserves to be told that they can’t speak about their book in a pre-scheduled public appearance.”

When the current administration took office and fixed its crosshairs on diversity, it hurt business overall. As a result, the book industry is in a downturn and has seen the shuttering of major distributor Baker & Taylor (founded in 1828) and Spanish-language distributor Lectorum (founded in 1960), which has resulted in layoffs, hinting at worse times to come.

What Can Be Done?

One way to resist censorship is to support Freedom to Read bills, which essentially ban book bans. These bills provide legal protections against censorship and give front-line defenders like librarians and educators the tools they need to ward off illegitimate challenges. Nine states have already passed such bills. Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, the home of the publishing industry, vetoed a Freedom to Read act on December 19, 2025. Passing a Freedom to Read bill will not solve all our problems, but it is a critical first step toward protecting our children’s right to read.

With March being Indie Press Month, the entire industry needs reader support like never before. The diverse children’s books movement began with independent publishers like Children’s Book Press, the first multicultural children’s book publisher in the U.S., founded in 1975 and now an imprint of Lee & Low Books. Being an independent publisher necessitates the wearing of many hats and operating within less-than-optimal budgets. The guerilla marketing and sales approaches that indie publishers are known for will be tested for the foreseeable future.

In 2023, Diversity Baseline Survey 3.0 had close to 200 companies participate. The survey is something we did together as a community. I hope that we can coalesce once more and defend our businesses against censorship. To galvanize the publishing community, we have designated Monday, March 2, 2026, as Contact the Governor Day. As March 2 also happens to coincide with Read Across America Day, we felt this would be a meaningful way to do something tangible to protect books for young readers from book bans. Even if you live outside of New York State, you can still write Governor Hochul, since the ramifications of her vetoing the Freedom to Read Bill directly impact those who work for N.Y.C.-based companies.

Here are two ways to help:

  1. Write a letter to Governor Hochul on March 2, 2026: An avalanche of letters arriving simultaneously will convey the importance of this bill. You can find a letter template here.
  2. Stand and be counted: If you are an owner of a publisher or publishing-adjacent business, add your company’s name to the Penguin Random House support letter for Senate Bill S.8630/A.9537, the Freedom to Read Act. Include your company’s logo and email it to Rosie Stewart.