Hi, all. You’ll get two emails from me this week: this one with an overview of the Banned Books events coming up for “The Beautiful and Banned” podcast in Austin, and another one on Wednesday with a sneak peek at a newsletter interview I’m really excited about (more to come!).
National Banned Books Week is Saturday, September 21 to Saturday, September 28. My podcast co-host, Christine Renee Miller, is coming to Austin and we have lots of fun events scheduled!
(Most of our pictures online are well edited, but this is what we usually look like—inadvertently matching and laughing so hard we’re blurry.)
Even if you’re not in Austin, you can follow along online on our podcast Instagram page, our individual Instagrams (mine and Christine’s), and our TikToks (Christine’s and mine). You can also listen to our incredible conversations in the next few weeks wherever you get your podcasts—we’ve recorded several interviews that are truly eye-opening, slated for upcoming episodes.
We’ve been planning this week out for months and I CANNOT wait!
Here’s where you can find us:
Saturday, Sept. 21: Austin Public Library’s Banned Books Week Kickoff Celebration, 12-4pm, APL Hampton Branch at Oak Hill (5125 Convict Hill Rd.). This day is going to be amazing for the whole family, and has all kinds of fun stuff planned; please come out and say hi!
Monday, Sept. 23: Banned Books Trivia Night! at BookPeople. We’ll start in the morning with story time for little ones at 11:30 AM and all day voting registration with Authors Against Book Bans. Starting at 5:30, there’s a fabulous evening planned, with community activities, a resource panel with AABB, the Authors Guild, and Charley Rejsek of BookPeople to find out the status of book banning efforts and how you can help. Then we’ll end with an exciting trivia game with local authors Aaron H. Aceves, Dalia Azim, and Evan Griffith! (Register on the link above to make sure you reserve your spot, and find out more about the schedule and participants!)
Wednesday, September 25: 7pm, tabling at the Austin Library Foundation’s evening with Mike Hixenbaugh, author of They Came for the Schools, featuring PEN America, Texas Freedom to Read Project, and FReadom Fighters. Come chat with us and get a podcast logo sticker! This will be at Austin Central Library (710 W Cesar Chavez St).
Sunday, September 29: 2:30pm to 3:30pm, I’m moderating “Save the Books,” a conversation with Chris Barton, at APL Spicewood Springs Branch (8637 Spicewood Springs Road).
If you know anyone in Austin who would love these events, please forward it on! As always, Christine and I are so grateful for your support! Come have fun and celebrate the freedom to read with us!