This week is Banned Books Week in the US (as opposed to last week of February in Canada for some reason.) Oh well – I’ll happily celebrate any week that celebrates banned books and pass along great articles profiling authors who’ve been banned.
In 2008, when Phillip Pullman learned his novel, The Golden Compass, was one of the most banned public library books in the country, his reaction, he said, was “glee.” Not only did the ban mean free publicity, but guaranteed an increase in sales, as readers who might otherwise check his book out of libraries would now be forced to buy it from bookstores. Today, when most writers are grateful to get attention — any attention — for their books, and Fifty Shades of Gray has grandmothers reading about S&M, libraries and school boards across the country still challenge the inclusion of books they consider dangerous or subversive.