More than 200 people gathered on Tuesday evening in New York City to toast YA author Sherman Alexie, who was being honored by the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) at its annual "Free Speech Matters: Celebration of Free Speech and Its Defenders" event. Wilma J. Grey, a library director from Newark, NJ, was also honored. Ironically, the night before being named as an NCAC Defender of Free Speech, Alexie’s book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, faced yet another parental challenge, this time in Billings, MT. Dozens of parents, students, and community members came out Monday in support of the book, urging that it remain on the tenth-grade reading list in Billings Public Schools. The NCAC also sent a letter of support, hoping to sway school board opinion against the complaining parent, who claimed the book “does nothing but confirm negative stereotypes about the lives of Native Americans.” The book is a frequent target for book challenges, according to the NCAC.

Lisa Birnbach and Sherman Alexie. Photo: Garrett Burns.

“What really gets me mad is when they try to ban funny," said Alexie in his light-hearted acceptance speech, which he gave while verbally sparring with the evening’s emcee, Lisa Birnbach, First Amendment advocate and author of True Prep (Knopf, 2011). The evening also featured a special tribute to publisher Peter Workman, who died earlier this year. The founder and president of Workman Publishing had been a founding member of the NCAC Free Speech Leadership Council. The council, formed in 2009, is a group of intellectual, cultural, legal, and business leaders committed to the defense of free expression. The council offers the opportunity for leaders in the field to discuss intellectual and artistic freedom. Workman himself was no stranger to controversial works, as the often-challenged novels Water For Elephants (Algonquin, 2006) and How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Algonquin, 1991) were published by a division of his company. Grey, director of the Newark Public Library in New Jersey, was honored for courageously displaying a controversial work by renowned artist Kara Walker despite criticism from the community and even her staff. The artist herself presented the award to Grey at the event. “Librarians are never far from the threat of censorship,” Grey reminded the audience in her acceptance speech. Staff from the library, including George Wheatle Williams and Lola Caldwell, were in attendance to cheer on their boss.

Newark (NJ) Public Library's George Wheatle Williams, honoree Wilma J. Grey, Irene Danie, and Lola Caldwell.

NCAC’s annual event is a fundraiser for the 39-year-old organization, whose mission is to protect and defend free expression and access to information. The evening also gives authors and publishers the opportunity to socialize with one another. Spotted in the crowd were Deborah Heiligman, author of Charles and Emma (Holt, 2009) and Intentions (Knopf, 2012), as well as children’s literature historian—and New York Public Library exhibit curator—Leonard Marcus.

Elizabeth Levy, who is celebrating the publication of her latest book, Amber Brown Is on the Move (Putnam, 2013), was also in attendance along with author/photographer Susan Kuklin, whose Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out will be published by Candlewick in February.