Pedophiles. Porn pushers. Groomers. Menaces. Predators. Champions of woke ideology.
Remember when librarians just had reputations for shushing and being stern? Somehow those same public servants who just wanted you to turn it down a little have become purveyors of filth and foot soldiers in the war to brainwash kids and turn them into snowflakes. Well, that’s one perspective—a bent one but unfortunately also one that has been picking up currency over the past few years as book-banning efforts have morphed from one-off challenges to an organized, well-funded right-wing effort that has seen successes at local libraries and library boards and on much bigger stages, with laws passed in several states restricting the right to read. Things have turned ugly, librarians and educators have been vilified, and a lot of kids are seeing award-winning works of literature getting pulled from circulation in their local libraries for plainly political purposes.
We’ve been covering these stories and will continue to. For this issue, landing as it does just before Banned Books Week, we wanted to do something a little different and take a beat to talk with the folks who are in the trenches on this, and whose lives have been chewed up for no reason other than they had the conviction to stand up for people’s right to read. In these pages, we hear from librarians who have lost their jobs (one is a barista now, another a clerk in a hardware store), others who no longer feel safe at home or at work, authors who travel under aliases for security reasons, booksellers who are trying to pick up the torch and make banned books available in their communities, and many more.
On our cover is an original work by Jerry Craft. You probably know him as a Newbery Medalist and the author-illustrator of, among other works, New Kid, a graphic novel about the coming-of-age of a 12-year-old Black kid. It’s a modern classic, and its perceptive take on race and class is perfectly calibrated for its intended audience of 8–12-year-olds. Doesn’t matter; Jerry’s still received death threats over it.
So, no, this is not a feel-good issue. Lives are being ruined. But victories are also being had in court, and publishers are getting more involved on the legal front, alongside the great work that’s long been done by organizations such as PEN America and the American Library Association. To that end, I’m pleased to say PW is donating $10,000 to the ALA’s Leroy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund, the purpose of which is to financially support librarians who lose their jobs “because of their stand for the cause of intellectual freedom.”
It’s a shame such a fund has to exist in America in 2024.
On a personal note, I’ve got a nine-year-old daughter. She’s a total goofball, lot of feelings, ride-or-die Swiftie. Just started fourth grade in Brooklyn. At her age, she’s got some, you know, developmental things developing. So last week my wife and I got her a book explaining all the fun stuff that happens during puberty. It’s nicely done, illustrated, whimsical, the tone spot-on for the audience, and one of many such similar books that have been challenged in public and school libraries, basically because they have illustrations of breasts or penises in them. The thing is, she’s reading it, and I’m glad she is. But it’s absurd that another nine-year-old living somewhere else would have a much harder time getting the same book into their hands.
I’m sorry we couldn’t be bringing you a more celebratory issue, but with more awareness and expanded support within the industry to fight book-banning laws in the courts, who knows what the story may be this time next year.
Jonathan Segura
Editorial Director
