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The Latest Breaking News from PEN America

The book ban surge gripping America’s schools and libraries

A nationwide surge in restrictions against library materials under the auspices of a “parental rights” campaign runs parallel to legislation targeting LGBT+ people and honest discussions of race and racism, sowing chaos for educators and chilling speech in schools across the US. Richard Hall and Alex Woodward report

The Independent UK

Book bans are soaring in US schools, fueled largely by new laws in Republican-led states

Fearing criminal penalties, public schools throughout Missouri removed hundreds of books from their libraries after state lawmakers last year made it illegal to provide students with “sexually explicit” material — a new law that carried punishment of up to a year in prison.

Los Angeles Times

Borrowers With High Credit Scores Penalized Under New Federal Mortgage Fee Plan

Plus: Buzzfeed News is shutting down, alcohol delivery not linked to higher rates of booze consumption, and more...

Reason

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Book bans in US schools increased by 28 per cent in the first half of the school year, says new report

“Book bans impede the freedom to read, limiting students’ access to a diversity of views and stories,” says PEN America

The Independent UK

Book bans in US public schools increase by 28% in six months, Pen report finds

Writers organisation denounces ‘relentless’ Republican crusade as 1,477 books banned in first half of 2022-23 school year

The Guardian - US

Graphic Novels Bear Brunt of New Library Wars Over Access to Books

One of America's richest art forms suffers for seeming realer than other literature. But the war against "graphic imagery" is really a war against certain truths.

Reason

The Guardian view on US book bans: time to fight back

Editorial: Censorship is surging thanks to an organised rightwing minority targeting books on LGBTQ and Black characters and issues

The Guardian - UK

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NPR quits Elon Musk’s Twitter over ‘government-funded’ label

The public radio network announced that it was leaving the social media site after it was labeled ‘government-funded media,’ which the network says hurts its credibility.

Chicago Sun-Times

NPR protests as Twitter calls it ‘state-affiliated media’

The description, added to all tweets the news firm sends out, is seen as undermining confidence in its reporting. PEN America calls on Twitter to reverse the move.

Chicago Sun-Times

NPR protests as Twitter calls it 'state-affiliated media'

Twitter labeled National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media,” a move that some worried Wednesday could undermine public confidence in the news organization

The Independent UK

Penguin to publish 'classic' Roald Dahl books alongside new editions after 'censorship' backlash

Penguin Random House announces it will publish "classic" unaltered versions of Roald Dahl's children's novels after it received criticism for cuts and rewrites in new editions.

ABC News

Penguin to Publish ‘Classic’ Roald Dahl Books after Backlash

Publisher Penguin Random House announced Friday it will publish “classic” unexpurgated versions of Roald Dahl’s children’s novels after it received criticism for cuts and rewrites that were intended to make the books suitable for modern readers.

Asharq Al-Awsat

Rishi Sunak joins calls for Roald Dahl books to be left alone: Who else is against rewrites?

‘I think it’s important that works of literature and works of fiction are preserved and not airbrushed,’ said the PM’s spokesperson

Evening Standard

Why are Roald Dahl’s books being rewritten?

Publisher Puffin hired sensitivity readers to rewrite passages to edit out words such as ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’

Evening Standard

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Axios

Roald Dahl inclusive book edits prompt “absurd censorship” criticism from Salman Rushdie

"Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship," Rushdie said.

The Independent UK

Critics reject changes to Roald Dahl books as censorship

Critics are accusing the British publisher of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s books of censorship after it removed colorful language from works such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda” to make them more acceptable to modern readers

The Independent UK

‘I’m tired and scared’: The ‘historically bad’ wave of anti-LGBT+ legislation impacting youth mental health

A record number of state-level bills targeting transgender young people and the inflammatory right-wing rhetoric surrounding them are having a damaging effect on LGBT+ youth, Alex Woodward reports

The Independent UK

George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene team up for bill that raises fears of LGTBQ+ book ban

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The Independent UK

A librarian’s frontline view of Florida’s ‘vetting’ process for school books, and the titles being banned

A vetting process to comply with Florida guidelines to school books has caused chaos for students and teachers, writes Richard Hall

The Independent UK

A librarian’s frontline view of Florida’s ‘vetting’ process for school books, and the titles being banned

A vetting process to comply with Florida guidelines to school books has caused chaos for students and teachers, writes Richard Hall

Tribune News Service

Editorial: The pervasive threat of letting kids read the ‘wrong’ book

Florida hasn’t made reading a crime — not yet, anyway. But it’s doing the next worse thing by dangling threats of criminal charges against teachers and educators who share the “wrong” books with students.

The Independent UK

Lorne Michaels of 'SNL' to be honored at PEN America gala

This year’s PEN America Literary Gala will be notable for the presence of “Saturday Night Live.”

The Guardian - US

Republican legislators introduce new laws to crack down on drag shows

Bills in at least eight states seek to restrict drag performances as part of a broader rightwing backlash against LGBTQ+ rights

The Conversation

Florida Gov. DeSantis leads the GOP's national charge against public education that includes lessons on race and sexual orientation

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ disdain for “woke ideology” is on full display.

WEKU

A play about censorship is censored — and free speech groups are fighting back

PEN America and two other free speech groups are calling for school officials in Florida to reinstate a high school production of Paula Vogel's Indecent, a play that is itself about censorship.

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