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Banned Together: Authors And Allies On The Fight For Readers' Rights

Banned Together: Authors and Allies on the Fight for Readers' Rights is a new YA anthology edited by Ashley Hope Pérez, drawn by Debbie Fong

Published Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:57:06 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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You may have noticed that there ahs been a new conservative push in the USA towards book banning in schools, public libraries and bookstores in various states. Graphic novels are often included at the top of these lists and, purely by coincidence, they usually seem to involve LGBTQ and POC characters and creators.

Banned Together: Authors and Allies on the Fight for Readers' Rights, is a new planned YA graphic anthology edited by Printz Honor author Ashley Hope Pérez and drawn by Debbie Fong. The collection will look at book bans through the lenses of fiction, poetry, graphic narratives, nonfiction, memoir, and other genres, highlighting the transformative power of reading while equipping teens to fight for access to diverse literature in their communities. Contributors include Elana K. Arnold, Trung Lê Capecchi-Nguyễn, Nikki Grimes, Ellen Hopkins, Kelly Jensen, Brendan Kiely, Bill Konigsberg, Kyle Lukoff, MariNaomi, Marieke Nijkamp, Isabel Quintero, Traci Sorell, Robin Stevenson, and Padma Venkatraman, many of who have had their own battles with censorship.

Author of the novels Out Of Darkness, The Knife And The Butterfly, and What Can't Wait, Ashley Hope Pérez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Studies at Ohio State University. Out of Darknes is one of the 24 books being challenged in Catawba County by school board member Michelle Teague., who made the challenges before she was elected. Debbie Fong is the New York-based creator of the upcoming The Faraway Forest graphic novel series, with her debut graphic novel Next Stop being published by Random House Graphic in March next year.

Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has acquired world rights to Banned Together: Authors and Allies on the Fight for Readers' Rights, for publication in the spring of 2025. Ashley Hope Pérez's agent Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret and Debbie Fong's agent Janna Morishima at Janna Co negotiated the publishing deal.

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