We reached out to some of our favorite authors whose books have been challenged. Here are their thoughtful, candid responses to the predicament of publishing a book and then being told no one should read it.
Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club)
What was your initial reaction upon learning that your book had been challenged?
At the Texas Festival of the Book the leader of that state's prison library system asked me for my autograph. She loved my books, but said they were banned from all the state's prisons for being too stimulating and subversive. Several high school teachers have been suspended for allowing their students to read my books. And young readers often tell me that my books are banned in their schools. That, and I've been on trial at least six times for obscenity in Turkey (innocent every time!). I take all of this to mean that I'm the new Judy Blume.
Is there a banned book you believe everyone should read?
Anyone incarcerated in Texas should be allowed to read Fight Club.
Alex Gino (George)
What was your initial reaction upon learning that your book had been challenged?
I went through a host of emotions. Sad that there would be trans kids who wouldn't get to see themselves reflected on the page. Angry that adults had taken it upon themselves to decide what of the world to share with children. Indignant that there are people who think my very existence as a trans person is somehow "age inappropriate." And confident that banning a book only makes folks more eager to find out about the story inside.
Did your family have rules growing up about what you could read?
Thankfully, no. My parents supported my reading anything and everything, and there were always plenty of books around. I remember finding Our Bodies, Ourselves on a shelf in late elementary school and thinking my parents had forgotten to hide it. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized it was probably there on purpose, and I thank them for using books as the tools they are.
Susan Kuklin (Beyond Magenta)
What was your initial reaction upon learning that your book had been challenged?
My book being banned was a punch in the gut, a slap in the face. I invited six young people to reveal their true selves to the readers of Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out. “Tell the world who you are,” said I. And they did — honestly, intimately, boldly. And their stories were banned because of who they are.
Rainbow Rowell (Eleanor and Park)
What was your initial reaction upon learning that your book had been challenged?
At first I was surprised, ashamed — hurt. I felt like, How can they be misunderstanding so completely what I was trying to say? Did I say it wrong? It took me a few months to step back and see the situation in context.
Are there any books you believe should be banned?
Books are thought. And I don’t think we should ever ban thought. That said — publishers exercise judgment, librarians exercise judgment, parents exercise judgment… That’s what’s so frustrating about a lot of school challenges. Often, when a book is banned or challenged in schools, a librarian or teacher has already carefully considered whether it should be shared with kids. The books get challenged when they show up on reading lists.
Did your family have rules growing up about what you could read?
I had rules for TV and movies. (No cursing. No kissing.) But for some reason, my mom didn’t pay any attention to what I was reading.
I pay much more attention to what my own kids read. Though when I say no to a book, it’s usually because I think my kids will get more out of it if they wait. Not because it’s “bad.” Like, I made them wait on Harry Potter and Hunger Games.
Is there a banned book you believe everyone should read?
Hmmm. I don’t usually think about books that way: prescriptively. The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 are books that taught me not to take freedom for granted. I'm going to say Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl.
David Levithan (Two Boys Kissing)
Is there a banned book you believe everyone should read?
I would love everyone to read Alex Gino’s George, because it’s a wonderful book (full disclosure: I was its editor), but also because I think it shows why the notion of banning a book is so ridiculous. It is a sweet, moving, ultimately upbeat story of a girl who the world sees as a boy — but that’s their problem, not hers. It is a call for openmindedness and openheartedness — which is exactly what we need right now.