Jay Asher, author of Thirteen Reasons Why, has recently filed a defamation lawsuit against SCBWI and Lin Oliver. Mr. Asher’s career imploded when he was accused of sexual misconduct, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators announced that he had violated the professional organization’s anti-harassment policy. The repercussions were swift: His literary agency…
Today, I wanted to tackle why the children’s book publishing industry is giving a pass to sexual misconduct authors and illustrators who were not written up in major publications? It’s as if publishers have conspired with School Library Journal to scrub the comments on their article, Unpacking Anne Ursu’s Survey and the Fallout, with Changes…
I invited my guest author to respond today, Sandra Neil Wallace, on the Wall Street Journal Op Ed piece, “Reading From Left to Left at Barnes & Noble.” The author, Dave Seminara, objected to a book display of Inspiring Books to Empower Young Readers because it was too liberal. He writes: Unless you lock your children in a…
Is it just me or did the #MeToo movement in children’s book publishing started by Anne Ursu seem to get squashed out by the greater powers that be? School Library Journal, for instance, has taken down the post about Sexual Harassment in Children’s Publishing a number of times. It’s back up now but the comments with…
Banned Book Week starts on September 23rd. It’s the annual celebration of the Freedom to Read. It’s a week to speak out for banned and challenged books. Here are the banned and challenged books that I recommend! And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, illustrated by Henry Cole And Tango Makes Three is…