Fighting Book Bans with PEN America’s Nadine Farid Johnson and Author Ashley Hope Perez

It’s hard to believe we have to say this in 2023, but across the nation, right-wing forces are banding together at all levels of government to ban access to books in schools and libraries. Florida, in particular, has been a hotbed of these bans under the dubious leadership of Ron DeSantis. Our guests this week are suing to make sure literature remains accessible. Nadine Farid Johnson serves as the Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs, and Ashley Hope Perez is an author and educator whose novel Out of Darkness has been one of the most challenged books in the country during this onslaught of anti-free-speech actions.