Author: Maren Williams

Malaysian Government Seeks Details on Zunar Customers

Zunar

The trouble continues for Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar, who is now dealing with a government effort to intimidate customers who bought his most recent book, Komplot Penjarakan Anwar. Unlike most of the rest of Zunar’s books, Komplot Penjarakan Anwar has…

Highland Park Committee Reaffirms Art of Racing in the Rain

Art of Racing in the Rain

In a report released this week, a 12-member review committee in the Dallas-area Highland Park Independent School District recommended retaining Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain on the approved reading list for sophomores and above. Out of…

Indie Comics Reborn in Egypt

Shakmagia

Egypt has no shortage of political cartoonists, although they must walk a fine line to get their work out to the widest possible audience. But in the past few years, the country has also seen a resurgence of independent long-form…

Did a Polish Town Ban Winnie the Pooh?

This much is certain: council members in the Polish town of Tuszyn earlier this month declined to name a local playground after Winnie the Pooh. And yes, one member said the Bear of Very Little Brain is “half-naked,” while another…

Danish Editor Reflects on Muhammad Cartoon Controversy in New Book

Flemming Rose

Nearly a decade after the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten printed 12 controversial cartoons on the theme of Islam and free expression, a book by the editor who commissioned the illustrations has finally made its way into print in the United States.…

Highland Park Requires Parental Permission for Classics

Dracula cover

Forging ahead with an ill-considered plan that drew criticism from the National Coalition Against Censorship (including CBLDF) and the American Library Association, the Dallas-area Highland Park Independent School District last week revealed some of the books that students now need…

Jefferson County Students Thrown Out of Board Meeting

In Jefferson County, Colorado, where the debate continues over a plan to review the AP U.S. History curriculum, about a dozen students were ejected from a school board meeting last week for civil disobedience tactics including reading passages from their…

Malaysian Human Rights Group Supports Zunar

Following yesterday’s news that Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar and several business associates are again under investigation by government authorities for sedition, the human rights organization Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) today issued a statement demanding an end to the “unrelenting harassment…

Zunar Assistants Arrested for Selling Cartoon Books

Zunar cartoon

Just over a month after a Malaysian appeals court lifted a ban on two of political cartoonist Zunar’s books, the artist and his employees are again facing harassment and intimidation from police. As the sensational trial of an opposition leader…

CBLDF Urges Objectivity for Highland Park School Board

As the Dallas-area Highland Park Independent School District continues to deal with parental complaints about certain books approved for classroom use, CBLDF yesterday joined the National Coalition Against Censorship and five other free speech organizations to send a letter urging…