Authors & Illustrators

Children's literature has lost another giant with the death of Jim Murphy; Colin Kaepernick to release a graphic memoir; SCBWI launches new fund and programs; and more in this edition of News Bites.

The letter, signed by 1,300 children's and YA authors and read into the record at a congressional hearing, spoke of the harm to kids from book censorship.

In the latest Censorship Roundup, administrators pull books from shelves and require parental consent based on individual complaints and an organization's list of "problematic" titles.

To support teachers and librarians in the face of ongoing censorship, School Library Journal and Penguin Random House—in partnership with PEN America, NCAC, NCTE, FReadom, and Library Journal—have created a poster that vividly illustrates the importance of intellectual freedom.

We Need Diverse Books is fundraising for LGBTQIA+ book donations, President Biden speaks out against book banners, May 6 is Floyd Cooper Day, and more in this edition of News Bites.

The author-illustrator duo chats with SLJ about the collaborative process and teaching children the constant possibility of change. 

LGBTQIA+ authors and writers of color are getting fewer invitations to speak to students at schools as attempts to ban books continue across the country.

SLJ spoke with Mariko Tamaki, author of YA prose novel Cold, about the resilience in her main characters, why the mother in her story is an author, and the dynamics of joy and trauma.

Graphic novel authors Kim Hyun Sook and Ryan Estrada, who wrote about Kim's experience in a banned book club in South Korea in the 1980s, now find their book relevant to U.S. students.