On this edition of Your Call, authors Laurence Yep, Patricia McCormick, and Obi Kaufmann discuss book bans, rising censorship, and the fight for the right to read.
There have been nearly 23,000 book bans in public schools since 2021, with the overwhelming majority targeting books about racism, sexuality, gender, and history, according to PEN America.
In a new report, PEN America warns that, "in 2025, book censorship in the United States is rampant and common. Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country. Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide. Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, even threatening public funding to exact compliance. Never before has access to so many stories been stolen from so many children."
How are authors responding to right-wing book bans and rising censorship? What's the most effective way to fight for the right to read?
Guests:
Laurence Yep, author of 60 novels for children and young adults, including Dragonwings, which was removed from a middle school in Blount County, Tennessee, after parents complained about the book's content, winner of two Newbery Honors and the Children’s Literature Legacy Award
Patricia McCormick, author of several books, including Sold, the second most banned book in the US, and two-time National Book Award finalist
Obi Kaufmann, author of several books about California’s ecology, biodiversity, and geography, including The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource, which was flagged under the Trump administration's March Executive Order, "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," at Yosemite National Park, and 2025 featured artist for the National Gallery of Art in Yosemite
Resources:
PEN America: The Normalization of Book Banning
PEN America: Book Bans
NPR: PEN America warns of rise in books ‘systematically removed from school libraries’
The New York Times by Patricia McCormick: My Book Is Horrifying. My Book Is a Lifeline. My Book Is Banned.
SF Gate: Trump admin to ban book from Yosemite National Park, says author
