books

Officials in Escambia County, Fla., removed 10 books from school libraries and restricted access to more than 150 others. Writers' advocacy group PEN America calls the lawsuit the first of its kind.

Some libraries are now facing an existential threat: They could lose their public funding over books deemed inappropriate for young readers.

After years on the brink, the bookseller is going for a plot twist: Sales are growing and the chain plans to open some 30 new stores. Here's what's changed.

In July 2022, Florida Governor DeSantis signed Florida House Bill 1467. It requires all schoolbooks to be reviewed by a district employee holding an educational media specialist certificate. Shortly after the bill went into effect, videos started popping up on social media of empty school bookshelves.

HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry-level salaries. A ratified contract would run through 2025.

Noted authors like Toni Morrison, James Baldwin or Alice Walker tend to be spotlighted during Black History Month. This year, Traci Thomas of "The Stacks" podcast shares some new voices.

Summer Boismier was an Oklahoma high school English teacher who gave her students a QR code that led to the Brooklyn Public Library's page on banned books. Controversy ensued, leading her to quit her job ultimately.

This episode of Focus: Black Oklahoma features reports on book bans disproportionately affecting works with Black characters or addressing issues of race, Black women in politics and the growing instances of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.

Susan Kuklin published the award-winning Beyond Magenta in 2014. The collection of images and interviews with transgender and nonbinary teens and young adults centers their experiences and identities.

Writer and LGBTQ activist George M. Johnson speaks about what's lost when books like their 2020 memoir All Boys Aren't Blue are banned from school libraries.