Virginia Legal Action Threatens the Freedom to Read

The Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit advocacy organization for professional writers, journalists, and book translators, opposes a deeply disturbing situation taking place in Virginia. Based on one political candidate’s allegation, a court has found probable cause to require the authors and publishers of two award-winning books to demonstrate why they do not meet the definition of “obscenity” and should not be banned from sale anywhere in Virginia.

Below is a statement signed by the Authors Guild and 13 other organizations which stand in solidarity with the authors and publishers of Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer and Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Mist and Fury and oppose this latest craven attempt to censor literature to advance a politician’s election chances.

“This is Fahrenheit 451 using the law instead of fire,” said Douglas Preston, President of the Authors Guild.

Click here to read the full statement.