ALA announces banned book statsLast week the American Library Association announced their latest numbers on censorship in 2023, and here is what they found:
The number of titles targeted for censorship surged 65 percent in 2023, reaching the highest levels ever documented by ALA. The new numbers released show efforts to censor 4,240 unique book titles in schools and libraries. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023. Four key trends emerged from the data gathered from 2023 censorship reports:
"Every challenge to a library book is an attack on our freedom to read. The books being targeted again focus on LGBTQ+ and people of color. Our communities and our country are stronger because of diversity. Libraries that reflect their communities' diversity promote learning and empathy that some people want to hide or eliminate,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski. For a breakdown of censorship challenges by state, visit this heat map. You're Invited!The WNBA-NYC Chapter is hosting an event called In Conversation with Author Marnie Mueller on April 11, 2024 at 7:00pm via Zoom.
https://wnba-nyc.org/product/conversation-marnie-mueller/ It is free and open to everyone. March MeetingLinda Harris, Program Chair, kicked off her first WNBA program on Thursday, March 7, at Dalts. It was a delightful evening with a book swap and conversation. We also heard from three of our most recent board members, Linda Harris, Program chair, Libby Simons, Southern Festival booth chair, and Catherine Hooper, Membership chair, about their experiences as WNBA Nashville board members.
Linda was generous sharing information about her experience with Hachette. Her friends at Hachette and Little Brown provided books for the book swap. Libby Simons is the new chair for the Southern Festival booth and shared experiences from her career and as a long time WNBA member. Catherine Hooper has been the Membership Chair for a year, and it was interesting to hear her thoughts about handling membership and her career as an event planner with Vanderbilt. It was a very casual evening and we encouraged WNBA members who have recently published to share information about their books. Several members participated: Lauren Thoman (I’ll Stop the World), Melissa Hogan (Afraid of the Doctor) and Melissa Collings (False Flat). Meredith Lyons was a guest at the March meeting and shared information about her recently published book Ghost Tamer. The book swap was opened up to the staff at Dalts. Books not chosen, and there were very few, were given to the Dalts manager whose apartment complex has a library. Make plans now to join us at Dalts on Thursday, April 4, for our last regular meeting of this membership year. The Members Only Garden Party will be held on May 16 to round out our year. Tennessee Book AwardIn partnership with the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), Humanities Tennessee (HT) is proud to present the inaugural Tennessee Book Awards in 2024. Our state is known for its rich literary history, yet unlike many other states, Tennessee does not have an annual award recognizing excellence in Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Poetry written by Tennessee residents.
For more information about this exciting new award, click here to go to the Tennessee Humanities website. Author EventMarch 29 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm CDT
Author Event: Jeanne Hardt Global Education Center, 4822 Charlotte Ave #3, Nashville, TN 37209, USA Join the Global Education Center in welcoming Appalachian author Jeanne Hardt, who will read from and discuss her Smoky Mountain series. For more information, visit:http://www.globaleducationcenter.org/ The event is one in the Three Roots of Appalachia series, partially funded by Humanities Tennessee. To see this announcement and more events from Humanities Tennessee, click here to go their website. Southern Festival of Books 2024Humanities Tennessee has announced that the 2024 Southern Festival of Books will be held October 26-27 at the Tennessee State Library and Archive, Tennessee State Museum, and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park! Authors in the Round, the annual fundraising special event featuring 40+ Festival authors, will be held Friday, October 25th at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Mark your calendar now!
Join us for some conversation!Would you like to have a chance to socialize with your fellow members of WNBA without leaving home or having to fight Nashville traffic? At 7:00 pm on the third Thursday of February, April, June, August, October, and December, you can do just that! That is when we have our Literary Society meetings where we share books that we've been reading. But we also talk about life and get to know each other a little bit better. Join us for some online fellowship! You should receive an email with the Zoom link early in the week, but if you don't, let us know through the contact form on this site and we will send it to you. Our next Literary Society meeting is April 18 at 7:00 p.m. "I look forward to hearing everyone talk enthusiastically about the books they're reading, and what they most enjoyed. It's always a nice variety. My "books to read" list has grown every time we chat over Zoom." -- Tori Ross Member News Don't forget to check out our Member News page regularly. Our members are doing great things and have great tips for you! If you have anything you would like to add, complete our contact form. Member news can be about anything that you want to share, your retirement, a promotion at work, your latest publication, your appearances, or a work in progress. News of current members only will be published. Our members are awesome! Did you realize there are more pages on our website than this one? Click above the website header on the three lines or the plus sign to find the links to our other pages. You'll find lots more content and information! |
Executive Committee NomineesWNBA Nashville President Kathleen Dietz is pleased to announce the nominees for the Executive Committee for 2024-2026. According to the bylaws of our organization, we must vote to approve the slate of nominees. If you are a member, please email your vote of yes or no to Kathleen by April 4, 2024.
President: Ami McConnell Vice President: Lluvia Augustin Secretary: Melissa Collings Treasurer: Allison Stewart There’s a new author and publisher’s event coming to Nashville…. It’s called the Books, Authors & Publishers Fair (www.BAPFair.com). The organizer (who is also an author) has planned the event to be for authors, publishers, book sellers and anyone connected with the wonderful, inspiring world of books. Initial plans include:
The organizers are hoping to attract local booksellers, and those providing publishing & author services such as: Printers, designers, editors, distributors, book marketing experts etc. Plus libraries, associations, book clubs anything book or literary. There will be a used book drop off -- all sale proceeds to charity. Visit the website to sign up for more information, or go to the FaceBook event page. Contact details: Paul Rowney, PHR Media. Email: expo@phrmedia.com. www.bapfair.com Tel: 615 457 2816 The Book ReviewWe would like to post book reviews here on the website, written by our members. So, if you know of a great book that you would like to share with us, please send your original review to wnbanashwebsite@gmail.com. It can even be a review of your own book! Here's the first in what we hope will be our series.
by Sandy Stahl In The Jackson River Bridge: A Memoir by Noah Waters author Elliot Light takes the reader on a poignant exploration of memory and development. From the internal perspective of the main character, the reader can feel and see the daily struggles of someone who is trying to cope with a family and society that has little empathy for his position as a neuro-diverse child. Jeff Cutter tries to cope, to fit in, and simply to survive despite his unexpected and disconcerting responses to normal social cues. While society often demonstrates little tolerance for those who don’t meet normal expectations, Jeff Cutter doggedly pushes forward to learn strategies to fit in as well as to discover who he is. This book pushed all my buttons. I was angry about the abuse he received from family and strangers. I felt triumphant at his successes and disturbed by his confusion and despair. I laughed with him on the rare occasions when he experienced happiness. No child should have to struggle as he did to reach adulthood and discover his goodness or his soul. For all of his difficulty in relating to people due to his autism, Jeff Cutter eventually discovered ways of connecting with people. He found his identity and a new name. The idea that Jeff wasn’t finished and that strangers committed to helping him find himself is powerful. That sort of kindness and investment of people in the well-being of others is special and so is The Jackson River Bridge: A Memoir by Noah Waters. You will not be disappointed in this memoir. Available in paperback, hardback, and on Kindle through Amazon. February ProgramWNBA Nashville was honored to have Kristin O'Donnell Tubb as guest speaker for our program meeting on February 1, 2024. Kristen is an author of middle grade fiction who has written 24 books in the last 20 years!
She spoke to us about writing nonhuman characters, citing many examples from fiction, both current and classic. Kristin has written three books with dogs as the narrator, including Luna Howls at the Moon, Zeus Dog of Chaos, and A Dog Like Daisy. Her newest book, Fowl Play, which is about a parrot, will drop this summer with a party at the Nashville Zoo. WNBA Nashville thanks Kristin for joining us and entertaining us with her knowledge and her tips on writing! Look for her website at https://www.kristintubb.com/ A thank youMy name is Lila Bess Vargas, and I am a thirteen-year-old, homeschooled seventh-grader who aspires to be an author of children’s books. I have written, illustrated and self-published a couple of books for my younger sister to read.
One Sunday morning my sister and I were browsing our church’s bookstore and met Kathleen Dietz. The conversation drifted to my interests in books and writing. Several months later, Mrs. Dietz kindly invited me to attend a WNBA meeting where a children’s author would be the guest speaker. I love dogs, as many middle grade girls do, and I enjoy reading and writing stories with non-human characters, which happened to be the subject of the evening’s discussion with author/speaker Kristin O’Donnell Tubb. Mrs. Tubb was so kind to answer a few questions I had about her experiences as an author and suggestions she had for me to improve my writing skills. I was overjoyed when one of the kind ladies in attendance presented me with one of Mrs. Tubb’s books, which to my great surprise had been autographed. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting, the speaker and the many things I learned. Many thanks to Mrs. Tubb and special thanks to Mrs. Dietz for inviting me to the meeting and broadening my exposure to a field I have great interest in pursuing.
May 18, 2024 10:00 am Book Discussion From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson comes a rollicking, riveting tale set in the Cosmere universe—a standalone adventure perfect for fans of The Princess Bride.
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death? All book discussions are currently being held on Zoom.
Contact wnbanashwebsite@gmail.com for the link. Click here to see our Upcoming Book Discussions May 18 July 20 September 21 November 16 Next Literary Society: April 18 , 2024 WNBA Loves Books!
We write them, we publish them, we sell them, we teach children and adults to read and appreciate them, we loan them, we borrow them, we give them, we read them, we listen to them, and we share them with friends. --Lee Fairbend |
Questions?
All events, with the exception of the annual Christmas dinner and the Garden Party, are free and open to the public. For more information, or to request a Zoom code, contact wnbanashwebsite@gmail.com
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