Liberating Lit

Samira Ahmed is a New York Times Bestselling author and leader within Authors Against Book Bans. In this episode, she goes deep on the importance of curiosity, the power of small actions taken locally, and why one of the most common questions that arises about book bans is ultimately not important.

Show Notes:

• Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

• Internment by Samira Ahmed

• This Book Won't Burn by Samira Ahmed

• Authors Against Book Bans

• Kasama bakery

• Tinker v. Des Moines

• Chicago Human Rhythm Project

• One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

• Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Full transcript available at liberatinglit.com.

Through collective action, we create change. Emily Drabinski talks why union philosophies are crucial to literary advocacy; the tweet heard round the world and what it says about American political fears; and how we utilize the tools available to protect libraries, library workers, and access to literature.

Show Notes:

Show Notes:

• Organize Your Library: Building the Collective Power of Library Workers by Angelo Moreno, Kelly McElroy, Meredith Kahn, and Emily Drabinski

• Queens College School of Information Studies

• Strange People on the Hill by Michael Edison Hayden

• "What Happened to the SPLC—and Me" by Michael Edison Hayden

• Ruth Wilson Gilmore, Abolition Geography: Essays Toward Liberation

• Mariame Kaba, Prisons, Prose, & Protest

• Amanda Jones

• Dr. Delara Begum

• Maia Kobabe

• Beloved by Toni Morrison

• The Bible

• Sorting Things Out by Susan Leigh Star and Geoffrey Bowker

• ALA membership

Full transcript available at liberatinglit.com

Serena Jamison is a library trustee in suburban Chicago. On this episode of Liberating Lit, she talks about why we need local-level advocacy, the power of getting to know your neighbors, and the role and responsibility of being a trustee during a time of coordinated attacks on libraries–and why it's important she does this work as a trans woman.

Show Notes:

• The Librarians film

• Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Full transcript available at liberatinglit.com.

On this episode of Liberating Lit, Marley Dias talks about being a young literary advocate, growing in her work from 1,000 Black Girl books, and the power of sharing your message and passion with young people.

Show Notes:

• 1000 Black Girl Books

• Marley Gets It Done and So Can You by Marley Dias

• I Am the Dream Come True by Marley Dias

• Grassroots Community Foundation

• Daphne Bryant

• DreamWorldGirl Zine

• The Librarians documentary

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Full transcript available at liberatinglit.com.

That Librarian Amanda Jones talks about the mental health realities of fighting censorship, influential leaders and literature that have guided her work, and why she believes the pendulum is swinging back in favor of the freedom to read.

Show Notes:

• That Librarian by Amanda Jones

• The Librarians film

• Connected Librarians: Tap Social Media to Enhance Professional Development and Student Learning by Nikki D. Robertson

• Get Ready, Stay Ready Toolkit

• PEN America's Field Guide to Harassment

• EveryLibrary

• Keri Lambert

• K.C. Boyd

• Emily Drabinski

• Courtney Pentland

• Becky Calzada

• "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan (short story)

• Willie Carver Jr.

• Sheila the Great by Judy Blume

• Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship

• Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

The full transcript for the show is available at liberatinglit.com.

For the second episode of Liberating Lit, get to know the work of Dr. Emily Knox. Knox's expansive knowledge and experience with book censorship across American history informs so much of the work being done nationwide by advocates–including current and future librarians working in the field. We're going deep into the strange place of being a parent watching your child learn to read and the concerns that arise about what that really means and what we think it means.

Emily is interim dean and professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include information access and intellectual freedom and censorship. She is a member of the Mapping Information Access research team.

The second edition of her book, Book Banning in 21st Century America (Bloomsbury), was published in January 2026. Her most previous book Foundations of Intellectual Freedom (ALA Neal-Schuman) won the 2023 Eli M. Oboler Prize for best published work in the area of intellectual freedom. She has been interviewed by media outlets such as NPR and the New York Times and also testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on book banning.

Emily previously served on the boards of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and is a former editor of the Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.

She received her PhD from the doctoral program at the Rutgers University School of Communication & Information.

Show Notes:

• Book Banning in 21st-Century America by Dr. Emily Knox

• Book banning in Metropolis, Illinois

• Island Trees v. Pico

• Maus by Art Spiegelman

• Slay The Spire II

• Heated Rivalry

• Pokemon Go

• Outline of a Theory of Practice by Pierre Bourdieu

• Alanna books by Tamora Pierce

Full transcript available on liberatinglit.com

In the first full episode of Liberating Lit, get to know the work of Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson. We talk about what brought Magnusson to the work of tracking and documenting book bans across the country, what inspires her advocacy, the things she's most proud of, and how she continues showing up every day.

Tasslyn Magnusson is a writer, teacher, poet, and lover of stories. She also works as an independent researcher examining censorship across the country with projects for EveryLibrary and PEN America. Please feel free to connect through her website at tasslynmagnusson.com.

The full transcript for the show can be found at liberatinglit.com.

Show Notes:

• Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson's Book Censorship Tracking Document
• Mahmoud v. Taylor
• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
• Ride / Đạp Xe by Bao Phi and illustrated by Thi Bui
• brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• We Are Stronger Than Censorship

Welcome to Liberating Lit, a podcast about the advocates doing the work of promoting literature. In an era of ever-increasing book bans, talking with those doing the work on the ground matters. This podcast aims to learn what inspires these advocates and what keeps them going, with the goal of helping inspire new advocates and refill the cups of those who've been looking to rekindle their spirits.

This is episode zero, where you'll get to hear a little bit about my own journey with censorship and advocacy.

More information about the show, as well as full transcripts of each episode, are available at liberatinglit.com.

Show Notes:

• Unite to Read Project

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier