It has now been over four months since Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart and several of his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper were arrested on suspicion of supporting Kurdish militants and the Gulenist movement. There is little change to report in their…
Author: Maren Williams
PEN America Notes Chilling Effect of U.S. Immigration Restrictions
Even before the second version of President Trump’s travel ban was unveiled yesterday, the general unease over immigration restrictions and possible detention or questioning at U.S. ports of entry was already causing a chilling effect for international writers and artists…
CBLDF Joins Coalition Urging Return of Eleanor & Park to Oregon School District
CBLDF last week joined the Kids’ Right to Read Project to send a letter protesting the removal of Rainbow Rowell’s novel Eleanor & Park from the eighth grade curriculum in the Yamhill-Carlton School District in Oregon. The school board ignored…
CBLDF Joins Letter Asking VA Governor to Again Veto ‘Beloved Bill’
CBLDF signed on to yet another letter from the National Coalition Against Censorship regarding Virginia’s resilient ‘Beloved bill’ which was vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe last year, defeated as a proposed State Board of Education regulation in January, and brought…
Florida Classroom Censorship Bills Return for Second Year
Much like Virginia, the state of Florida now has its own set of “zombie bills” that have returned to the legislature for the second year running, in an attempt to weaken education standards and allow any taxpayer–not just parents–to raise…
Fourteen Banned and Challenged Comics by Women
Throughout Women’s History Month, we’re bringing you a series of posts featuring significant comics work by women. First up: Comics by women or centered on female characters that have been banned or challenged in the past, either in the U.S. or…
Alaska School Board Removes Four Titles from Reading List After Parent Complaints
Five popular, award-winning, and critically praised novels were recently removed from an alternative reading list for high school students in Nome, Alaska after parent complaints, leading to a contentious public debate at a school board meeting last week where other…
Stuck in the Middle Challenged in Oklahoma School
An Oklahoma middle school last week pulled the comic anthology Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age off of shelves after one parent called it “trash” and complained of vulgarities, sexual references, and drug use in some of the…
Rep. Clay Files Lawsuit Over Removal of Student Art Contest Painting
Missouri Congressman William Lacy Clay has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to protect the First Amendment rights of his constituent David Pulphus, whose painting on the theme of police violence was repeatedly removed from the wall of a U.S. Capitol…
Saudi Fans Flock to Kingdom’s First Comic Con
Saudi fans of comics and all things geek made history last week with the kingdom’s first ever Comic Con. Despite fevered criticism from traditionalists who accused them of “devil worshipping,” men and women alike put on their best cosplay and…