Stop Book Bans Toolkit

The Authors Guild advocates for the rights of professional writers to create, publish, and earn a sustainable living as fiction and nonfiction writers, poets, translators, and journalists. Book banning, whether challenged by the right or the left, interferes with those rights, not only by suppressing free speech and freedom of expression but by making it harder for authors to sell copies of their work.

You can use our Stop Book Bans Toolkit to help fight book bans in your own area. Below are templates and details for contacting your local school board, writing to your state lawmakers, or submitting a letter to the editor to your local newspaper or radio station. You can also click here to learn more about our ongoing efforts to fight book banning nationwide.

Join Us to Stop Book Banning

Write to Your Local School Boards, Representatives, and Newspapers

Regardless of the reasons behind the huge rise in the number of school boards banning books, however, the National Coalition Against Censorship, of which the Authors Guild is a proud member, has asked for our help in combating this alarming trend. That’s why we are calling on all interested members to help us launch a national letter writing campaign by undertaking one or more of the following actions:

• Send an email to your town or city school board encouraging them to approach requests to ban books with caution and to recognize that the loud voices of the few do not necessarily speak for the many. (Download a sample document)
• Write a short op-ed and send it to your local newspaper outlining the dangers of censorship and encouraging those against book banning to let their school boards know. (Download a sample document)
• Send an email or letter to your state representative expressing concern about the growing number of states outlawing the teaching of “critical race theory,” as such laws inevitably undermine all discussions about racial and gender inequity, including book bans that disproportionately impacts BIPOC students and those students who may be struggling with their gender orientation and sexual identity. (Download a sample document)

Feel free to write something in your own words or you can simply download one of the sample templates and sign your name to it.

Find your local school board members and superintendent

Find your state representative(s)

Join the Authors Guild and ALA to #UniteAgainstBookBans

We are pleased to partner with the American Library Association and be on the Steering Committee of #UniteAgainstBookBans, a national grassroots campaign to engage the public in the fight against censorship. This non-partisan campaign leverages the reach of national organizations representing librarians; educators; parents; authors; publishers and distributors; champions for civil liberties, civil rights, and equality; and more.

Visit uniteagainstbookbans.org to learn how you can join the fight. Tag @AuthorsGuild on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and use the hashtag #UniteAgainstBookBans to let us know when you’ve taken action!