Fighting for Our Right to Read

Featuring critically-acclaimed authors who frequently experience censorship of their books, this rousing panel will highlight the escalation of book bans around the country and how we can fight back against them. While promoting The Day the Books Disappeared, National Leader of Authors Against Book Bans Joanna Ho was forced to leave a school after refusing to comply with the school's demands forbidding them from mentioning book bans or gay books, sparking discourse about the deeply unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read. Palestinian American author and publisher Hannah Moushabeck also faced censorship during a university event, which initially barred Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine, a Palestinian picture book. With support from the campus community, she read her book anyway and inspired a university-wide resolution that affirms the freedom of expression. Also continuing the fight at the legislative level is Dashka Slater, whose book The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives is one of the most banned books in the United States. In 2025, Slater joined the Big 5 Publishers and other authors to sue the State of Idaho over a bill that censored which books youth could read. The scope of today's bans is much wider than before, but the authors of this panel moderated by activist and organizer Alejandra Domenzain are proof that fighting for our most basic freedom to think, to read, and to arrive at our own opinions is necessary for effective change. This event took place in Downtown Berkeley, at the Bay Area Book Festival, May 29-31 2026.  Support our work and help to keep the Bay Area Book Festival 96% free! https://givebutter.com/writingthefuture Check out our upcoming events www.baybookfest.org Follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baybookfest/