The Rise of the Book Ban & the Freedom to Read

Co-presented with KQED Fest

Every year since 2020 the U.S. has seen an exponential rise in the number of book bans—often instigated by a small, vocal group of individuals who wield outsized power to censor books about sexual violence and LGBTQ+ topics (especially trans identities). Join us at KQED Fest, a free, all-day block party and open house at KQED HQ, to learn about the current state of book banning with San Francisco’s City Librarian Michael Lambert, Becka Robbins from Books Not Bans (sponsored by Fabulosa Books), and Authors Against Book Bans members Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Maia Kobabe, award-winning author of Genderqueer, the most banned book in the U.S. in recent years. Moderated by KQED’s morning news anchor Brian Watt. Book sales benefit the Books Not Bans program that sends LGBTQ+ books to places with active bans of LGBTQ+-affirming content. FREE

Book sales for this event coordinated by Fabulosa Books.

Host or Publisher Litquake, San Francisco's Literary Festival