I really, really didn't want to write this letter. And it’s with a certain amount of dread clanging around in my head that I sit down at my desk this morning to do so. Nobody reading this needs to be told yet again that banning and suppressing books is at best unconstitutional and at worst unconscionable. Nobody reading this needs a reminder about the crucial role libraries play in communities large, small, red, blue, urban, and rural. And certainly nobody reading this needs a history lesson on what tends to happen after government censorship is normalized and weaponized.
But I do think it’s worth taking a minute to say thanks to the folks who are out there every day trying to extinguish these fires before they become infernos. So, for our second Freedom to Read Issue, we’re highlighting the amazing work being done in communities across the country, from the Diet Coke–drinking mom who a couple years ago cofounded the Texas Freedom to Read Project to the members of Penguin Random House’s Intellectual Freedom Taskforce, who led PRH to become the first American publisher to sue a school district. Yes, that’s the state of things: the country’s largest publisher has found itself in a spot where it needs to sue schools.
There’s a pervasive nastiness to the organized and well-funded opposition that the people profiled in these pages are up against. What five or six years ago were pockets of parents who mistook their desire to limit what their own kids had access to in schools and libraries as a mandate to dictate what every kid has access to in schools and libraries, now has the blessing and backing of the White House and the extended Project 2025 apparatus. None of this is actually being done to, ahem, protect the children. It’s a campaign to take the country back to the good ol’ days of 1863.
Imagine if they get what they want. Imagine if there’s no government funding for arts or humanities. Imagine if libraries become more or less propaganda depots where the catalogs are determined by sweaty, narrow-minded toads whose picture of how things should be is a whiter shade of Mayberry: Want to check out a copy of Beloved? Sorry, out of circulation. But we do have The Turner Diaries.
Slippery slope? Maybe. But think about what this country looked like just nine months ago. We are less than a year into this nightmare of an administration, and its war on empathy, education, and intelligence has notched a frightening number of victories.
Which is why resisting this creeping authoritarianism is absolutely vital today and will be tomorrow and, unfortunately, for years to come. At PW, we cover these stories every day, and I want to tip my hat to our news team, who have more than risen to the occasion. PW is also, once again, donating a portion of this issue’s proceeds to a right-to-read organization. This year we’ve chosen Unite Against Book Bans, an American Library Association initiative that mobilizes grassroots support across the country against government censorship efforts.
Like I said, I wish I didn’t have to write this letter. I wish we didn’t have to do this issue. But I am, if nothing else, glad we can put a spotlight on the people who could have just as easily not shown up at school board meetings, or not gone through the expense and ordeal of going to court to protect their constitutional rights. They chose, at no small peril, to not sit it out.
It’s great to see the publishing community is right there with them.
Read more from our Freedom to Read feature.
How 10 Grassroots Activists are Fighting for the Right to Read
These 10 advocates uphold the freedom to read on their local turf.
Books on Trial: 8 Freedom to Read Cases to Watch
These legal cases may determine which titles are available in public schools and libraries for years to come.
Book Banners Are Everywhere. These Lawyers Are Playing Offense.
Restrictions to reading materials are taking a toll on communities nationwide. These lawyers are helping librarians, teachers, and others fight back.
What’s Next for PRH’s Intellectual Freedom Taskforce?
Penguin Random House launched its Intellectual Freedom Taskforce in May 2023. Its work is far from over.
Librarians Without Borders: PW Talks with Kim A. Snyder
The Librarians, Snyder’s documentary on combating book bans that is already a Sundance festival hit, will tour libraries, campuses, and cinemas across the U.S. and around the globe this fall.
What Happened After ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ by George M. Johnson Got Banned
An inside look at the fight to keep the author’s bestselling memoir-manifesto on the shelves.
