In keeping with its long history of celebrating the diverse world of children’s books, Sourcebooks is taking direct action against a growing number of book bans and challenges nationwide. Whether that means joining forces with industry colleagues and advocacy groups (like the Penguin Random House Intellectual Freedom Task Force), supporting active anti-censorship lawsuits, or empowering educators, librarians, and concerned citizens, the publisher is diligently at the front lines of the fight for the freedom to read.
As Sourcebooks Publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah says, combating book bans is central to the publisher’s mission of bringing life-changing stories to the reading public. “Learning about new ideas and lifestyles vastly different from our own makes us better people,” she says. “And you know what? Sometimes big ideas make us uncomfortable.”
A number of Sourcebooks titles across genres have come under attack, including Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad and This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson. Raccah recognizes key similarities in the targeted books and what the efforts to ban the titles say about the censors. “In particular, Me and White Supremacy and This Book Is Gay highlight how harmful white supremacy and homophobia are,” she says. “They also are both extremely empowering; they’re so hopeful as we work toward a more diverse, inclusive future.”
Sourcebooks has witnessed firsthand how these titles benefit readers. This Book is Gay, for example, has given some readers the courage to come out to their parents. "Librarians are always telling us that it's one of their most stolen books," says Margaret Coffee, Senior Director of Library and School Sales. "It's incredible how necessary a book like this is. We were thrilled that we could bring the author, Juno Dawson, over to the U.S. last year for ALA annual. She spoke on a banned books panel that was standing-room-only."
Those calling for removing books from libraries and classrooms often claim they are advocating for "parental rights." But the phrase is "a thinly veiled euphemism for book banning and the censorship of teachers," says Audrey Barsella, Communications Manager. While parents certainly have the right to restrict reading materials for their own children, they shouldn't get to make that decision for other peoples' children. Barsella has helped grow Sourcebooks’ efforts to combat book bans, and is assembling an internal committee that will expand opportunities for employees to get involved.
“Our libraries and schools exist to serve the entire community, and that’s a broad charter that librarians and teachers train for years to uphold,” says Todd Stocke, SVP and Editorial Director. “The magic of a country rooted in freedom is that this mosaic gathers and cherishes all those cultures, all those points of view, that no one is left out. We should be showing our young people that we celebrate everyone, that we appreciate different ideas, and that we are collectively stronger because of our differences.”
As book banning continues to affect the publishing industry, it’s truly inspirational to see how many publishing colleagues across multiple houses continue to work towards the shared goal of creating a safe place for all voices. Authors, librarians, educators, booksellers, and many readers are on the front lines right now, and it’s vital that we all work collaboratively and advocate for them.
“We are a community of book lovers,” Raccah says. “We support each other. Just gathering with one another in the spirit of books, having these conversations, reminding each other that we’re all in this together in celebration of doing what we all love, creates this really powerful sense of joy and purpose. And harnessing that joy and purpose… that’s what Books Change Lives is all about. This is what we’re fighting for.”
