Good News re: Free Speech and Books for Teens

As reported in the Washington Post and by other media, the Virginia lawsuit attempting to stop Barnes and Noble bookstores from selling -- and public school libraries from carrying -- Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer” graphic novel-style memoir and Sarah J. Maas’s YA fantasy “A Court of Mist and Fury” has been dismissed.

By calling the books "obscene," conservative politicians in Virginia had been trying to use an old state law that would have opened the door for booksellers and librarians to be criminally liable for selling/making the books available to minors.

It was a new tactic by those who want to silence a Queer voice and limit what other people's children can read. And, though the dismissal is news to cheer, the books themselves were not cleared of the obscenity charges - it was the law that was found unconstitutional.

In the ruling, as reported by Hannah Natanson in the Washington Post, Judge Pamela Baskervill

“said the law violates the First Amendment by enabling governmental censorship and by assuming that anyone distributing an obscene book must be consciously deciding to break the law, when in fact these people might ‘have no knowledge that a book may be considered obscene.'”

Book banning is something that can affect all of us creating works for children and teens. Join the fight for the freedom to read at the American Library Association's Unite Against Book Bans website.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Creating in a Storm - Strategies

The news on book banning in the U.S.A., including this recent article in Publishers Weekly about a Tennessee bill that would create a politically appointed commission to essential veto any book in any public school in the state feels like a storm.

Not a rainstorm that washes anything clean, but more of a sand storm, or a dust storm like in this photo of a 1935 dust storm in Spearman, Texas. A storm that makes it hard to see. That disorients. 

How do we create in the midst of so much sand/dust/noise? A few strategies come to mind:

1) Shut it out. Lock your doors, seal your windows, and hunker down and do your creative work.

2) Let the knowledge that everyone understands what you're creating has power fuel your creative work. Recognize that the storm has been created because the power of books for kids and teens is undeniable. Books can be life-affirming for marginalized youth. Books can level the playing field, or keep it unjust. Books can define both perceptions and reality -- control over that power is what the storm is all about in the first place. 

3) Put on some protective gear and go out into the storm to help those who need help. That's a metaphor, and each of us will have to figure out what's our protective gear. (Mine seems to be staying off Twitter.)

4) Focus on who you're creating work for in the first place. That's the kids and the teens, the ones who need your book. The ones for whom it will change everything.

Do you have additional strategies? Please share them in comments.

Illustrate, Translate, and Write On,
Lee

Gail Carson Levine Takes A Character Political... And She's Joined By Other Children's Book Authors and Illustrators

Would you take one of your characters and put them out on social media saying who they would vote for?

In a recent message for Authors and Illustrators for Children, Gail Carson Levine, author of Ella Enchanted, did just that.

Gail Carson Levine's message that Ella of Ella Enchanted would vote in the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election

Gail wrote:

“Some of you may have seen my "Ella Would Vote" piece on social media in 2018, which I am releasing again. If you haven't, the idea is that Ella of ELLA ENCHANTED, once she threw off the curse of obedience, would never fail to exercise her options, and she would always vote. I'd love it if all the writers and illustrators in AIC would write something for the characters they've created along the same lines of "___ Would Vote", because we write or draw characters who have opinions and agency, even if they're kids or animals.

Our characters are likely to hit a soft, unarmored place in our now grown-up readers, or in parents who are reading our stories to their children. We can end by saying that we (and our characters) plan to vote for Biden-Harris.

Many writers and artists are worried about the possible effect on sales if they bring a character into the political arena. But look at what we are facing! It’s time to stand up for our children’s future...”

And it's not just Gail! Dan Gutman joined in, posting:

I hope that ALL the characters in my books would vote if they were old enough. It’s our civic duty. But I know one character for sure who would do ANYTHING to make sure he cast his ballot--Judson Moon from “The Kid Who Ran For President.”

And Iza Trapani, posting:

"Gabe & Goon & Vole & Troll would vote because they learned that friendship is more important than differences!" says @IzaTrapani. "I'm voting for #BidenHarris to rescue & reunite our country!" Thank you, Iza! #SaveDemocracy #ForOurChildren #BlackLivesMatter #Equality #AIforC2020

And Alex Flinn, posting:

"Kyle in Beastly would #vote for #BidenHarris because he'd want a president to end this pandemic & make it safe to go out. During his quarantine, Kyle developed kindness & compassion. He knows how important it is for those in power to care about others." @alex_flinn #AIforC2020

What's Authors and Illustrators for Children? As they explain on their website,

WE ARE OVER 1,000 AUTHORS & ILLUSTRATORS
DEDICATED TO A FREE, TRUTHFUL, AND SAFE AMERICA FOR ALL CHILDREN.
Authors & Illustrators for Children (AIC) is an organization of children’s book creators and associates committed to vote, campaign, and speak out for candidates and policies to create a safe, healthy, and inspired future for children everywhere.

You can find out more by following the hashtag #AIforC2020 and at the organization's website, https://aiforc.org/

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

SCBWI stands for freedom of expression, for inclusion, for absence of hate, and for equality of opportunity for all!

From the February 2017 Insight, the SCBWI member newsletter... 

A Timely Editorial

There's no doubt that we are living in a highly charged political environment. Everyone has an opinion and is expressing it vigorously, as well we should.  This freedom of expression is one of the precious rights guaranteed to Americans by the First Amendment. All of us at SCBWI cherish our First Amendment freedoms, which are so crucial to the work of writers and artists.

The SCBWI is made up of 25,000 individuals, individuals whose beliefs range broadly across the political spectrum. There is no one profile of an SCBWI member; nevertheless, we are bound together by a common goal. This goal, as stated in our mission statement, is "to support the creation and availability of quality children's books around the world by fostering a vibrant community...and to act as a consolidated voice for writers and illustrators of children's books worldwide."

In working towards this goal, we believe SCBWI members share certain core values. As creative people, we promote and advocate for freedom of expression. As providers of windows into all worlds, we support inclusion, diversity and equality of opportunity for all individuals. As visionaries for today's children, we strive to avoid hate and hate-speech while promoting acceptance and understanding. As teachers and role models, we hope to inspire young people to be curious, to question and think critically and humanely about the world they are inheriting.

The climate of our nation, and increasingly of the world, has become deeply polarized. It's easy for all of us to resort to social media to express our opinions, frustrations and feelings. With that fact in mind, it's important to state here that the SCBWI as an organization does not represent a particular political point of view. We would hope that you, our members, never confuse individual political points of view expressed by our staff, board or your fellow members, with those of SCBWI. Although we encourage the expression of individual ideas, they do not represent the organization. What does represent the SCBWI are the GOALS we've listed above. We stand for freedom of expression, for inclusion, for absence of hate, and for equality of opportunity for all. These are not political ideologies, but expressions of our shared human values.

Each and every one of us should be free to create. Children should be free to read. Our hope for these times is that our organization can stand for positivity, that our shared consolidated voice will be a beacon of freedom and love and civility, and that these values rise above ideology in support of the best possible future for our children.

 ---- Lin Oliver, Stephen Mooser and the SCBWI Board of Advisors