Banned Books USA is offering free books to Florida residents; We Need Diverse Books issues a statement condemning Scholastic Book Fairs; it's time to register for LibLearnX; and more in this edition of News Bites.

Banned Books USA offers free titles to Floridians

Florida residents, schools, and libraries can now get free copies of books that have been challenged and removed from shelves in the state. Banned Books USA—created and sponsored by Paul English and Joyce Linehan, in partnership with Bookshop.org and Electric Literature—will send the books for only the cost of shipping.

The cost of the books themselves is covered by donations, including seed funding by English, a tech entrepreneur and philanthropist. Book orders are fulfilled by Bookshop.org, and the project is administered by Electric Literature, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

For every order, $1 will be donated to Florida Freedom to Read Project, a grassroots organization started by two Orange County moms who have spearheaded the battle against the state’s book banning and “Don’t Say Gay” law.

A pilot program, Banned Books USA is currently only available to people and institutions in Florida. If successful, it will expand to Texas, Missouri, and other states.

WNDB condemns Scholastic Book Fairs' decision to “segregate books”

We Need Diverse Books released a statement regarding Scholastic Book Fairs' add-on diversity case and their public explanation of the decision. Read the full statement below.

[READ: Outraged at Scholastic’s Option to Opt in—or Out—of Receiving Diverse Books, Librarians Seek Book Fair Alternatives]

Submissions open for PRH Creative Writing Awards

Penguin Random House, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, has opened submissions for the 2024 Creative Writing Awards. High school seniors who attend U.S. public schools and plan to attend college in fall 2024 are eligible to apply.

This year will include the inaugural Freedom of Expression Award. Applicants to the new award will be asked to answer the prompt, “Tell us about one banned book that changed your life and why.” Submissions close on January 16, 2024—or when 1,000 applications have been received.

First-place prizes of $10,000, along with professional development opportunities, will be awarded for: the Michelle Obama Award for Memoir; the Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry; the Maya Angelou Award for Spoken Word; fiction/drama; and the Freedom of Expression Award. In recognition of the Creative Writing Awards previously being centered in New York City, the competition will award an additional first-place prize to the top entrant from the NYC area.

Winners will be announced and posted on the Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards website in June.

Registration open for LibLearnX

American Library Association has opened registration for LibLearnX, which will be held January 19-22 in Baltimore, MD.

There is an in-person option, as well as online only, and attendees who register by November 30 will receive a discounted rate.

Picture book announced of poem going to Jupiter

In October 2024, NASA will launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft to investigate Jupiter’s moon Europa. The spacecraft will be etched with a specially commissioned poem by U.S. Poet Laureate and MacArthur Fellow Ada Limón. To commemorate the occasion, Norton Young Readers is publishing a picture book edition of the poem, “In Praise of Mystery,” with art by three-time Caldecott Honor recipient Peter Sís. The release will coincide with the mission launch next October.