Bloggers Speak Out is a movement sparked by the recent article, “Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education” by Dr. Wesley Scroggins that was published in the Springfield, MO News-Leader on September 18th. In this article, Scroggins vehemently advocates the censorship of books in schools, and specifically requests that the following books be removed from the Republic school system: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. To show our support of these authors and to fight against book banning and censorship, we have decided to take action and speak out.
Below is a list of links of bloggers speaking out against book banning and censorship — in the form of giveaways, posts, and reviews. Some are “officially” participating in what we’re calling Bloggers Speak Out, and others are posts that we’ve found around the blogosphere. If you get time, you should definitely check them out!
In the meantime, I’m giving away a copy of Speak! I’m also reading it for the first time, and plan to post a review tomorrow.
To enter my giveaway, please fill out this form. This one’s simple – giveaway ends at 11:59pm on October 3rd, is open to entries from anywhere that the Book Depository ships, and the winner will be chosen using random.org!
Giveaways of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Papercut Reviews
- Braintasia Books
- Escape through the Pages
- Tina’s Book Reviews
- Sea of Pages
- Mrs. Deraps Reads
- Moonlight Book Reviews
- Cari’s Book Blog
- Just Your Typical Book Blog
- For What It’s Worth
- Wondrous Reads (Ends 9/27)
- Frankie Writes (Ends ?)
- The Elliot Review (Ends ?)
- The Bookologist (Ends ?)
- La Femme Readers
Other Giveaways
- Lisa Schroeder: ARC of The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Ends 9/23)
- Will Write for Cake: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five
- Mindful Musings (here): Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Slaughterhouse Five
- Teens Read and Write: Win The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
- Mundie Moms: Win Speak, Burned, Twenty Boy Summer, or The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Ends 9/26)
- Wicked Awesome Books: Win a “Filthy Books” Prize Pack
- Carol’s Prints: Win Speak and The Mockingbirds
- Myra McEntire: Win Speak, Twenty Boy Summer, or Harry Potter
- The Bookish Type: Win Speak or Twenty Boy Summer
- Bea’s Book Nook: Win Speak & an ALA Challenged Book (Ends 10/2)
- Sarah Ockler: Win a Wesley Scroggins Filthy Books Prize Pack (Ends 10/1)
Other Posts Against Book Banning and Censorship
- Braintasia Books
- Escape Through the Pages
- As Told by Jen
- Aine’s Realm
- The Compulsive Reader
- Once Upon a Bookcase
- Daily Dose Speak
- Loudly Book Drop @ Late Bloomer Online
- A Life Bound by Books
- Red House Books
- Frankie Writes
- Michelle’s Bookshelf
- I Should Be Writing
- The Undercover Book Lover
- Punk Writer Kid
- Lisa and Laura Write
- Between the Covers
- Another Book Junkie
- Jenni Elyse
- Eve’s Fan Garden
- The Ultimate Dumpees
- Reading the Best of the Best
- The Pirate’s Bounty
- Reclusive Bibliophile
- Book Faery
- Bloggers Heart Books
- Book Swarm
- Fantasy 4 Eva
- The Ladybug Reads
- The Lady Critic’s Library
- Emilie’s Book World
- Jacob’s Beloved
- Just Your Typical Book Blog
- Maggie’s Bookshelf
- Basically Amazing Books
- Novel Thoughts
- Random Ramblings
- Holes in my Brain
- Readligion Vision
- Quest Fail
- Shelby Barwood
- Supernatural Snark
- Consumed by Books
- Ann Marie Gamble
- The Darker Side of the Fire
- Katie’s Book Blog
- Sassymonkey (BlogHer)
- GreenBeanTeenQueen
- Jessica Lei
- Maria Romana
- Abby Minard
- The Mimosa Stimulus
- Books and Things
- Beyond the Trestle
Authors Speak Out
- Laurie Halse Anderson: This guy thinks Speak is pornographic
- Laurie Halse Anderson: The power of speaking loudly
- Author Gayle Forman @ Eve’s Fan Garden
- Author Saundra Mitchell @ Eve’s Fan Garden
- Karen Rivers
- Sarah Ockler: I Speak Loudly for Speak
- Sarah Ockler: On Book Banning Zealots and Ostriches
- Author Laura Manivong @ Page Turners
- Cheryl Rainfield: Fight Against Ignorance
- Myra McEntire: Speak Loudly: In Defense of Laurie Halse Anderson
- Andrea Cremer: Speak Out
- Natalie Standiford on Censorship @ Emily’s Reading Room
Important Articles on the Subject
- “Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education” (the article that started it all)
- Scroggins’ Official Complaint to the School Board (PDF)
- “Republic School Book Choices under Fire” (Springfield News-Leader)
- Laurie Halse Anderson’s Editiorial in the Springfield News-Leader
- Sarah Ockler’s Editorial in the Springfield News-Leader
- Natalie @ Mindful Musings’ Letter to the Editor in the Springfield News-Leader
- Essay: Kurt Vonnegut’s Thoughts on the First Amendment
Tags: challenged books, contest
Thanks for compiling this list!
Thanks, but it wasn’t me who compiled it! The person organizing the Blogger Speak Out did.
Awesome! Off to Tweet and Facebook this list!
I love that you compiled a list! I haven’t read Speak and this controversy has made me want to really badly. It is an important subject but I feel like I would be more qualified if I had read the book?
I hadn’t read it until last night, either. Now I have, and I’m really glad I did – it was fantastic!
Thanks for the opportunity! I haven’t read Speak but I really want to, especially now.