Of the ACLU:
…last month, a Virginia resident filed an obscenity lawsuit against two acclaimed books: Gender Queer, a memory, by Maia Kobabe, an autobiographical graphic novel that chronicles the author’s experience as a non-binary and asexual person; and A court of mist and anger, by Sarah J. Maas, a fantasy novel. The obscenity proceeding will take place under a nationwide rise in efforts to limit people’s access to books and our ability to read, learn and think for ourselves – but they could be the first to lead to a nationwide ban on publication or distribution.
Applications were submitted last week by several independent bookstores and a number of national organizations representing booksellers, authors and libraries common movements urging a Virginia court to drop this obscenity proceeding. We represent these retailers along with the ACLU of Virginia and Dentons’ Michael Bamberger, arguing that the case threatens the rights of both young and adult readers — and the First Amendment rights of our clients, as well as other booksellers, retailers and publishers, to access such materials grant.
More of the ACLU:
On June 22, 2022 our customers – local bookstores Prince Books, Read Books, One More Page Books and bbgb tales for kids and American Booksellers for Free Expression, Association of American Publishers, Inc., Authors Guild, Inc. , American Library Association, the Virginia Library Association, and the Freedom to Read Foundation — filed motions seeking to dismiss obscenity lawsuits against two books, emphasizing the unconstitutionality of the lawsuit and noting that the books were not legally obscene.
To learn More, directly to the full article
See also: Additional information and links to applications
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Businesses (Publishers/Sellers), Conference Presentations, Libraries, News
About Gary Price
Gary Price ([email protected]) is a librarian, author, consultant and frequent conference speaker in the Washington DC area. Prior to launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and editors-in-chief of ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006 to 2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com and is currently a Contributor to Search Engine Land.
