Banned Books Week

(image via the ALA website)

It's Banned Books Week here in the U.S.-- an annual celebration of intellectual freedom in this country. I've long been a fan of the ideals behind BBW, not to mention its slightly-sassy, contrarian underpinnings.

OK, I might be projecting a little bit on that last part.

I find myself feeling a little inarticulate (I just wrote "unarticulate") when I try to express how much this all means to me. Books should be a safe place for people everywhere to explore new ideas, learn about the world, and come to understand themselves better.

In the grand tradition of "putting your money where your mouth is," I'm a big, big fan of purchasing as many books that appear on the Frequently Challenged list as I can. It's hard not to notice that an awful lot of the books on recent lists deal with LGBT issues, along with many other tough subjects I care a lot about. Buying these books is a good way for me, as a reader, to communicate that to publishers-- and to help ensure that publishers will continue to take a chance on these "difficult" issue-driven books.

Here's the list of the Most Frequently Challenged books from the past decade. How many have you read?

Writing Prompt: Labor Day Edition

My morning run took me past the local middle school this morning. I have rarely met anyone who regards those years (age 11 to 14, or thereabouts) as the happiest of their lives. Okay, I've rarely met anyone who thinks all the money in the world would be enough to make them revisit that time.

This may be why the age group is one of the toughest audiences to write for, but that's a conversation for another blog post.

At any rate, the misery and trepidation on those young faces inspired this week's writing prompt:

The Worst Day of My Short Life

No contest for the moment; this is just for fun. But I still promise to read your entries, if you post a link in the comments.

We'll start another contest soon; meanwhile, stay tuned for our summer contest winner's query critique in my next post!