PVPF 2024

The Author's Surname is 'Gay,' Hence her Book was Banned in the United States

Children's book blacklisted in Alabama due to author's surname mix-up sparks library controversy.
on Oct 10, 2023

Because of her surname, a children's book author's work was mistakenly blacklisted in Alabama.

The book Read Me A Story, Stella by Marie-Louise Gay was apparently pulled from the children's section of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HCPL) in Alabama after being categorised as "sexually explicit" because to the author's surname.

Gay's publicist, Groundwood Books, claims that this is a first for the author, who has never been "mistakenly censored."

According to Kirsten Brassard, a publicist at Groundwood Books, the censorship error was "obviously laughable," but it shouldn't deflect from the "ridiculousness" of the state's censoring system.

"This demonstrates, once again, that censorship is never about restricting access to this or that book." It is about teaching children that certain ideas, or even certain persons, are not worthy of debate.

"This is a hateful message in a place like a public library, where all children are meant to feel safe, and where their curiosity about the world is meant to be nurtured."

'There was no discussion. There was no discussion.'

Cindy Hewitt, executive director of HCPL, stated that the book should not have been placed on the censorship list and confirmed that it was done so because of the phrase "gay."

The books were ordered to be cross-referenced with the Alabama Public Library Service's list of challenged publications, according to Alyx Kim-Yohn, the library's circulation manager.

However, after realising that the list of challenged books did not yet exist, Kim-Yohn, the library, instead prohibited books based on a variety of keywords, including the phrases gay, transgender, gender identity, and gender nonconforming.

Read Me A Story, Stella is apparently one of 233 books currently stopped for review, according to Hewitt, but the process was delayed due to popular outrage over the prohibitions. Many of the books have been relocated to the adult area, while others are still not available to the public.

The children's book, geared at youngsters aged five and under, follows the narrative of Stella and her brother Sam, who discover the joys of reading. It is currently said to be in the adult section of the library.

"We wanted to be proactive and allow our library staff to look at our collection and make decisions about moving material to an older age group and not have someone from outside dictating that for us," he added.

"We understand and appreciate our community and the needs of our collection to reflect our community," she said. "We never got rid of a book." We were just looking at the big picture."

'If you're insane, what we need to do is come check out these books.'

Kim-Yohn described the scenario as "cosmically ironic" given that it occurred during Banned Books Week.

They also stated that there was no discussion among library employees about whether banning the books was a smart idea.

"The decision had already been made," they stated. "There was no discussion. There was no conversation; this was what was going on.

"Why are we just unilaterally moving all of this before anyone's even complained about these books yet?"

Kim-Yohn stated that after the decision was made, library officials declined to participate because it contradicted their professional and personal standards. Following the occurrence, they hope that it will motivate people to visit libraries more frequently.

"If you're mad, what we need to do is come check out these books, come to story times and put in purchase requests for books that you want to see," they went on. "We need you to keep supporting the library."