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The Rise of the Book Ban & the Freedom to Read
Saturday October 19, 2024 4:00pm - 4:45pm PDT
KQED
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Co-presented by KQED Fest

Every year since 2020 the U.S. has seen an exponential rise in the number of book bans—often instigated by a small, vocal group of individuals who wield outsized power to censor books about sexual violence and LGBTQ+ topics (especially trans identities). Join us at KQED Fest, a free, all-day block party and open house at KQED HQ, to learn about the current state of book banning with San Francisco’s City Librarian Michael Lambert, Becka Robbins from Books Not Bans (sponsored by Fabulosa Books), and Authors Against Book Bans members Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Maia Kobabe, award-winning author of Genderqueer, the most banned book in the U.S. in recent years. Moderated by KQED’s Morning News anchor Brian Watt. Book sales benefit the Books Not Bans program that sends LGBTQ+ books to places with active bans of LGBTQ+-affirming content. FREE
Book sales for this event coordinated by Fabulosa Books.
Moderators
avatar for Brian Watt

Brian Watt

Brian Watt is KQED's morning radio news anchor. He joined the KQED News team in April of 2016. Prior to that, he worked as a Reporter for KPCC in Los Angeles and a producer at Marketplace. During eight years at KPCC, Brian covered business and economics, and his work won several awards... Read More →
Authors and Participants
avatar for Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an MFA in creative writing from USF. She is the author of the 2017 Parent's Choice Gold Medal winning picture book, Also an Octopus, illustrated by Benji Davies. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea is her debut young adult novel, which was an NPR, Kirkus, School... Read More →
avatar for Maia Kobabe

Maia Kobabe

Maia Kobabe is a nonbinary queer cartoonist, a kpop fan, a voracious reader, and a daydreamer. You can learn an astonishing number of intimate details about em in Gender Queer: A Memoir and in eir short comics and writing published in The Nib, The New Yorker, The Washington Post... Read More →
avatar for Michael Lambert

Michael Lambert

Michael Lambert is the City Librarian for the City and County of San Francisco. He was appointed in March 2019 by Mayor London Breed. He is the first Asian American to lead the San Francisco Public Library. During his tenure, he has championed increased and equitable access to libraries... Read More →
avatar for Becka Robbins

Becka Robbins

Becka Robbins is the founder and director of Books Not Bans, and events manager at Fabulosa Books, San Francisco’s queerest bookstore. A voracious reader, she’s also a former learning specialist and taught dyslexic middle school students for over a decade. She’s also a musician... Read More →
Saturday October 19, 2024 4:00pm - 4:45pm PDT
KQED
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