and more.
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Publisher NewsDefending ‘Gender Queer’ from Book Bans
An inside look at how the team behind the most challenged book in America fought censorship and won.
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Libraries
Amicus Briefs Filed Ahead of Key Fifth Circuit Freedom to Read Battle
With a hearing before the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans less than two weeks away, a host of amicus briefs were filed this week in a closely watched case over book banning in Llano County, Tex.
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Libraries
Little Free Library Partners with ALA, PEN America on Banned Books Map
Little Free Library has teamed up with the American Library Association and PEN America to develop an interactive map that indicates areas in which books are banned and pinpoints locations of its book-sharing boxes.
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Libraries
Judge Rules Llano Librarian’s Wrongful Termination Suit Can Proceed
A federal court found that Suzette Baker had plausibly asserted that she was fired for opposing orders to improperly pull books that overwhelmingly represented the LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
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Publisher News
Major Publishers, Authors Guild Sue Over New Florida Book Banning Law
The August 29 complaint over H.B. 1069 argues that the statute is vague and overbroad, and that it has led to the improper removal of hundreds of books from school and classroom libraries in the state.
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Industry News
IBPA and EveryLibrary Make a Play for the Freedom to Read
We Are Stronger Than Censorship is a new program aiming to supply diverse books to young readers, which has begun fundraising and bringing partners on board ahead of a September 9 launch.
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Libraries
Survey Finds Most Americans Unengaged with Book Banning Efforts in Public Schools
Conducted by the Knight Foundation, the public opinion survey is the most in-depth yet on efforts to ban books in schools, researchers say.
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Publisher News
Authors Against Book Bans Officially Launches
The group's 1,500 members from all 50 states aim to provide “support and encouragement for the educators, librarians, parents, and students who are the first line of defense against censorship, and for the authors whose books are under attack.”
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Libraries
Oklahoma Supreme Court Blocks State Effort to Ban Books from School Libraries
The decision comes after state officials oversaw the creation of new rules governing library content in schools last year and demanded that the Edmond Public School district remove two books from high school library shelves over sexual content.
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Libraries
At Hearing, Appeals Court Appears Skeptical of Injunction Blocking Iowa’s Book Ban Law
During a tense 30-minute oral argument, the court suggested that federal judge Stephen Locher may have overstepped in preliminarily enjoining key provisions of Iowa law SF 496 on constitutional grounds.
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Publisher News
Authors, Publishers Sign PEN America Letter Protesting New South Carolina School Book Rules
More than 380 authors, publishing houses, and advocacy groups have signed an open letter protesting "vague and overbroad" new South Carolina education standards, slated to take effect on June 25.
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Libraries
New DPLA Campaign to Feature ‘Banned Book of the Week’
The effort will feature a banned book every Wednesday on DPLA’s social media accounts. Last year, the group launched its Banned Book Club, a program that uses GPS-based “geo-targeting” to enable readers to check out e-book versions of banned books via an e-reader app.
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Publisher News
The Cases Against Book Bans
After a string of wins, potentially significant developments now loom in several key book-banning lawsuits. PW rounded up the status of some of the more closely watched book banning cases.
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Libraries
Censorship Is a Hammer Looking for a Nail: PW Talks with Sam Helmick
The community and access coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library discusses their experience on the front lines of one of the nation’s most intense legal and legislative battles over the freedom to read and the very real impact book banning campaigns have on the LGBTQ community.
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Industry News
Publishers Issue Letter to NYC DOE Over Discarded Books
After a 'Gothamist' report found that hundreds of children's books had been thrown out on ideological grounds at a Staten Island elementary, a group of publishers and Authors Against Book Bans have written a letter to the NYC DOE over what they call "unlawful censorship."
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Publisher News
The Top 10 Book Business News Stories of 2023
The book business in 2023 in a nutshell: Amazon got hit with a federal antitrust lawsuit, Scholastic got mired in a censorship controversy, Simon & Schuster finally found a buyer, AI fever gripped the book business, and publishers stepped up to book bans.
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Publisher News
New PEN America Report Documents 'Scarlet Letter' Effect of Book Bans
PEN America has released "a cumulative data summary" of nearly 6,000 book bans in public schools, finding that shared lists of targeted books by organized political groups have led to books and authors being targeted in multiple communities across the country.
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Religion
Tracing the Spiritual Power of Publishing: Stephen Prothero
Stephen Prothero, author of 'God the Bestseller: How One Editor Transformed American Religion a Book at a Time' (HarperOne, Mar. 14), explores Eugene Exman's role in publishing books that remade America's religious life.
