Your first novel, The Borrower, features a children’s librarian and a bright, book-loving 10-year-old. What are your thoughts on the current spate of book challenges in libraries? I’m always so flummoxed by the book-banning discussion because, first of all, what does someone think is going to happen when they try to ban a book? It … Continue reading Newsmaker: Rebecca Makkai
Totenberg has written a memoir, Dinners with Ruth (Simon & Schuster, September), covering her own career and the relationships that helped shape it. She spoke with American Libraries about friendship, journalism, and covering SCOTUS in unprecedented times. What made your friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg special? It was special because she was special. All my friends … Continue reading Newsmaker: Nina Totenberg
Johnson, who is serving as honorary chair of Banned Books Week this year, spoke with American Libraries about their book, why it’s being challenged, and how it can serve as a call to action. All Boys Aren’t Blue has been challenged and banned in many schools across the US and has appeared on ALA’s Top … Continue reading Newsmaker: George M. Johnson
In your forthcoming collection Liberation Day, “Love Letter” is about a grandfather who writes to his grandson in an authoritarian near-future, expressing contrition and caution about the political situation and observing that people are unpersuaded by others’ beliefs. Is this a speculative tale or do you think our country is at an impasse? In “Love … Continue reading Newsmaker: George Saunders
Ng, who spoke at the American Library Association’s 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., talked with American Libraries about the novel, which calls to mind the not-so-distant past—and the anti–Asian American hate we are seeing today. In Our Missing Hearts, libraries are one of the last remaining sources of truth, as an underground … Continue reading Newsmaker: Celeste Ng
Your book Troublemaker draws from your own experience. What inspired you to put those memories into a novel—especially one for young readers? I started reflecting on the ’92 riots-slash-uprisings because of the events of 2020 and the murder of George Floyd. We were stuck at home watching the news coverage of the Black Lives Matter … Continue reading Newsmaker: John Cho
Spiegelman spoke with American Libraries about book banning, how comic books are used as teaching tools, and the importance of libraries in his life. The recent ban of Maus in Tennessee isn’t its first challenge. What did you think when you heard the news? Well, this was the most prominent. [And] this was much more, … Continue reading Newsmaker: Art Spiegelman
Your new book, Cold, is about two teenagers: the ghost of a boy and a girl who wants to solve his murder. What drew you to writing your first murder mystery? I’ve always loved reading mysteries, but the element of suspense wasn’t something I had ever focused on in prose. After a few years of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Mariko Tamaki
Kendi spoke with American Libraries about having his work challenged in libraries and schools, the myth of neutrality in libraries, and how to raise the next generation of antiracists. Your books are among the most frequently challenged in the current wave of censorship attempts. What’s that like? I write books for the general public, for … Continue reading Newsmaker: Ibram X. Kendi
On January 26, Talsma earned a spot in Jeopardy! history when he unseated fellow contestant Amy Schneider, who had racked up a 40-game winning streak, the second highest on the iconic game show. Talsma, multimedia librarian at Chicago Ridge (Ill.) Public Library, was the most recent in an impressive line of successful library contestants that … Continue reading Newsmaker: Rhone Talsma
He spoke with American Libraries about his librarian mother, what he’s learned from playwriting, and his recent $2.5 million gift to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts campus at Lincoln Center, which will fund a new laboratory space. How did your mother become a school librarian? My mother had a great love … Continue reading Newsmaker: Harvey Fierstein
You’ve authored two cookbooks, a food encyclopedia, and a memoir. What made you want to write the children’s book Tomatoes for Neela? This book is based on a story I would often tell my daughter, who is now 11, as I was putting her to sleep in earlier years. I think one of the best … Continue reading Newsmaker: Padma Lakshmi
