Speak Loudly for RAINN

Those of you who have followed this blog for ages know that I was one of many authors (and others) to Speak Loudly for the book Speak (by Laurie Halse Anderson) when it faced a censorship challenge. I tweeted and Facebooked about it, and wrote an opinion piece about the initiative for AOL News.

Starting today, in honor of Speak, the publisher Macmillan is partnering with RAINN (the Rape and Incest National Network) in a Matching Donation Campaign to raise funds for the RAINN organization and awareness during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April 2013.

RAINN is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization and Laurie, a longtime supporter, is committed to furthering their goal of giving every victim of sexual violence a voice. The campaign launches April 2 (coinciding with the National Sexual Assault and Awareness Day of Action) and will run through the month of April. Macmillan will match up to $10,000 in donations and will also be facilitating several incentives programs, including a ‘How Speak Spoke to Me’ creative contest, signed book giveaways, a manuscript review (by Laurie) and a chance for the school that raises the most money to win a visit from Laurie.

I hope you'll support this important initiative, and help give a voice to those who need it most. You can learn more about the #Speak4RAINN Campaign HERE.

Blogger Wednesday: Brent of Naughty Book Kitties

My first experience with Brent was a simple one. He sent me an email, asking if he could review my forthcoming (at the time) Young Adult novel Jumpstart the World for his blog, The Naughty Book Kitties. I contacted my Knopf publicist, had a copy mailed to him, and that was that.

Except it wasn’t.

Just days later, a Facebook friend left a post on my wall. It was about a teen book blogger who’d gone viral with his criticism of school and public librarians and their handling of LGBT literature. For those who haven’t read the post, I’ll offer the short version. When Bent was in middle school, he asked his school librarian where all the LGBT titles were hiding. She told him: “This is a school library. If you are looking to read inappropriate titles, go to a book store.”

(Or better yet, read the whole post HERE.) 

Click to read more ...

Author Friday: Cheryl Rainfield

Cheryl is one of the authors I might not know if it weren’t for the literary corner of the Twitterverse. As it is, I feel as though we’re old friends, trading books and dog pictures and keeping up on each other’s career. And there’s always the retweet, that simple click of a button that authors can—and do—use in support of one another.

I first became interested in Cheryl’s groundbreaking YA novel SCARS when I clicked through a Twitter link and watched Cheryl in a TV interview. That’s when I learned that Cheryl was herself a victim of unimaginable ritual abuse as a child, and was…as the old writers’ saw goes…writing what she knows. That’s even her arm on the cover. I’ve always been deeply impressed by all forms of emotional honesty and emotional courage (often one and the same) and I knew this was a book I had to read. I’m also halfway through Cheryl’s new paranormal YA novel HUNTED, which seems to be getting another great reception from her readers and fans. So nice to see success come to authors who deserve it!

Click to read more ...

Author Friday: Brian Farrey

Brian Farrey is one of my “Tweeps” (translation: Twitter pals). He’s also one of the four people who participated in (and, irritatingly, won) The Bet. Yet, bizarrely, these are not his main claims to fame. Some actually find it more important that he is the debut author of the terrific YA novel WITH OR WITHOUT YOU (which…I just have to say…please let me know if that book doesn’t pull in most of the major LGBT awards in its category so I can go hurt someone for being on the take) or that he is an editor at Flux books. Or that he has a middle grade novel tentatively titled THE VENGEKEEP PROPHECIES due out this year. People and their priorities, huh Brian?

Click to read more ...

Personal Responsibility

Updated on Tuesday, October 19, 2010 at 3:27PM by Catherine

There sure is a lot going on right now around book banning and censorship.  In fact, it's come to a town near me.  San Luis Obispo, a small city about 45 minutes down the Coast Highway from me, reviewed a book today that someone wants taken off high school shelves.  Here's the problem:  We don't know who.  After ten years in the school curriculum, the book was reviewed today as the result of an anonymous complaint.

The book is "Kaffir Boy" by Mark Mathabane, a memoir about survival as a child in South Africa during Apartheid.  Some anonymous person is upset by page 72, which contains a fairly graphic description of children prostituting themselves for food.  

I have an old friend, Dave Congalton, who's hosted a local talk radio show since...I'm not quite sure, but I think since the beginning of time.  He asked me this morning If I'd call in

Click to read more ...

Speak Up About Speak

Updated on Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 11:32AM by Catherine

Who could possibly think the YA novel Speak is pornography? Unfortunately, there's an answer to that question.  He's a guy in Missouri, Wesley Scroggins.  In an article called Filthy books demeaning to Republic education, he mischaracterizes Laurie Halse Anderson's classic YA novel Speak, the story of a young rape victim, and says it should be classified as soft pornography.  Because it contains two rape scenes.

Is the suggestion here that the purpose of writing about rape is to entertain and excite?  Because that's a pretty sick sentiment, Mr. Scroggins.  In a world where the statistics on child sexual abuse are so shockingly high, does he really think the solution is not to utter a word about the problem in books?  It's better if they don't read about someone who survived it, even if it's happening to these readers right now?

Such dangerous logic.  But then, all censorship is dangerous.  If you think a book is

Click to read more ...