Authors & Illustrators

Author and educator Torrey Maldonado has once again asked his industry friends why  Juneteenth matters.

With her recently published graphic traveloque, Uniquely Japan (2022), Abby Denson is once again sharing her love of Japan with the readers. Her books are chock full of fun facts about Japan, and her latest book is no exception. Each chapter highlights interesting travel facts about Japan including the seasons, arts and crafts, fun and games, fashions, various food dishes of Japan, high tech around Japan, and so much more. The facts are mixed with her own drawings as well as photographs from her travels.

ALA, the Virginia Association of School Librarians, PEN America, and more speak out against a lawsuit attempting to require parental consent for minors to purchase Gender Queer and A Court of Mist and Fury at Barnes and Noble in Virginia and more in our latest roundup of book censorships attempts around the country.

A.S. King, winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award, speaks to SLJ about reckoning with trauma, censors, and the need to stop bullying teens.

It's Jewish American Heritage Month, and SLJ spoke with authors about the importance of writing Jewish characters and stories.

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.