Above: The Library is offering another virtual program in partnership with other libraries. (image of cropped flyer)
The Southborough Library is offering another virtual author talk. But this one isn’t about the author’s novels or her experience writing them. Instead, it’s about how she is dealing with the backlash against them and working with others to fight book bans.
Several regional libraries have partnered to host the talk by Young Adult author Ashley Hope Perez.
“How to Fight Book Bans & Stand Up for the Right to Read” will take place over zoom on Wednesday, August 2nd at 6:30 pm.
Perez is one of seven authors who filed a lawsuit with PEN America (and Penguin Random House) against a school district in Florida for its book bans. The libraries promote:
Ashley Hope Pérez is an assistant professor of world literature at The Ohio State University and the author of three novels including Out of Darkness (2015), which has been on the American Library Association’s list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books since 2021. It received a 2016 Michael L. Printz Honor, the 2016 Tomás Rivera Book Award, and the 2016 Américas Award. Out of Darkness was selected as a best book of the year by both Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, and Booklist named it one of “50 Best YA Books of All Time.”
To join the zoom, register here.
The talk is sponsored by the Southborough Library along with the libraries of Sturbridge, Charlton, Southbridge, Oxford, Spencer, Blackstone, Monson, & Leicester.
All of the sponsoring libraries are part of the Central and Western Mass Library network. You can find Perez’s books in their catalog here.
