CENSORSHIP & BOOK BANNING: An Important and Timely Discussion

As book challenges have currently impacted Central Virginia and beyond, James River Writers (JRW) is providing a platform to share the insights and perspectives of nationally recognized authors directly affected by these bans, as well as leaders in anti-censorship movements. In partnership with Newbery Medalist Meg Medina, who will act as moderator, James River Writers presents CENSORSHIP & BOOK BANNING: An Important and Timely Discussion.  JRW’s goal is to help our audience understand the issues, both overt and implied, so that, moving forward, citizens are prepared to provide advocacy and support for the literary community in the commonwealth and across the nation.

This special panel discussion will include award-winning authors Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X) and Ashley Hope Pérez (Out of Darkness), discussing their works that have recently been pulled from public school libraries in New Kent and Henrico counties, respectively. They will be joined by Gordon Danning of the National Coalition Against Censorship, as well as Angie Manfredi, a librarian who left her job at the State Library of Iowa in August after legislation was passed in her state that banned critical race theory.

When: Monday, December 6 | 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Eastern

Cost:  $5 registration fee will be donated to the National Coalition Against Censorship

Location: Online, in the comfort of your own home. Via the Zoom Platform

Panelists: Elizabeth Acevedo, Gordon Danning, Angie Manfredi, Ashley Hope Pérez

Moderator: Meg Medina

Registration closes at midnight on December 5; your unique link to join the online Zoom program will be emailed to you the the morning of the program.

You can shop titles from our panelists HERE, along with additional titles from the top ten most challenged books of 2020.

This special panel discussion is sponsored by Meg Medina Books, Inc.

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PANELISTS:

ELIZABETH ACEVEDO is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X, which won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Michael L. Printz Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and the Walter Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High—which was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, NPR, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal—and Clap When You Land, which was a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor book & Kirkus finalist. She is a National Poetry Slam champion and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland. Acevedo lives with her partner in Washington, DC. You can find out more about her at www.acevedowrites.com.

GORDON DANNING has a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, but decided not to practice law and instead taught Social Studies for many years at a public high school in Oakland, California. Immediately before coming to work with the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). he served as the History Research Fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and he has published several academic and law review articles on issues relating to free speech.

ANGIE MANFREDI is a librarian, writer, and editor. She’s fat and not sorry about it and is passionately committed to ensuring all kids and teens have equal access to books that represent the truths in their lives. She likes sending snail mail, watching bad TV and good films, and Twitter where you can find her @misskubelik.

ASHLEY HOPE PÉREZ is the critically acclaimed author of three award-winning novels for young adults. Her most recent, Out of Darkness, received a 2016 Printz honor for excellence in young adult literature and the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award. The New York Times called it a “layered tale of color lines, love and struggle” where “a tragedy, real and racial, swallows us whole.” Booklist named it among “50 Best YA Books of All Time.” Kirkus Reviews says of Out of Darkness, “A powerful, layered tale of forbidden love in times of unrelenting racism.” Pérez completed her PhD in comparative literature at Indiana University where she focused on Latin American literatures, and is now a professor of world literatures at The Ohio State University.

MODERATOR:

MEG MEDINA is a Cuban-American writer and an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of numerous works for children and teens, including Merci Suarez Changes Gears, which won the 2019 John D. Newbery medal. She serves on the board of advisors for We Need Diverse Books, and she is on the faculty of Hamline University’s MFA program in Children’s Literature. A proud member and supporter of James River Writers, she lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Meg Medina Books, Inc. is sponsoring this important discussion. You can read Meg’s commentary HERE on the latest censorship issues facing the local community (and beyond) in which she lives. James River Writers is grateful for Meg’s driving force to bring this important discussion to our writing community.

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