"sometimes I Want To Win. And Sometimes I Want To Lose So Badly I Can Taste It."

Rafael Alberti, tr. by Ben Belitt, from An Anthology of Spanish Poetry: From the Beginnings to the Present Day, Including Both Spain and Spanish America; "Paradise Lost"

[Text ID: “Across centuries / and the void of a world, / sleepless, I seek you.”]

Has your name every appeared in the credits of a book, or is it likely to in the near future? Then you should join AUTHORS AGAINST BOOK BANS! Transcript below the cut. A version of this zine formatted for print is available to download on my patreon.

Do you make books? Yes? I want YOU to join Authors Against Book Bans! By Maia Kobabe

WHAT IS AABB? 

A coalition of writers, illustrators, editors & other book creators, standing united against the unconstitutional movement to limit the freedom to read. We support the availability of diverse voices in our libraries, in our schools, & in our culture. We pledge to band together against the oppression of literature, to speak when our voices are silenced, to go where our bodies are needed, & to fight to ensure this freedom.

Our concern is not only for the books, but for the children, families, educators, librarians, & communities who suffer when the freedom to read is challenged and taken away.

WHAT CAN AABB OFFER YOU? 

- Regional groups working on legislation to protect authors & the freedom to read state-by-state

- Online trainings on digital security, public speaking, & how to counter book challenges in your community

-Affinity groups for BIPOC authors, queer authors, authors with disabilities, indie, nonfiction, romance writers & more

-Support if your book is challenged!

-A very active discord community

Author: What if my book hasn’t been challenged? 

Maia: JOIN!

Author: Ok, but what if I’m really busy and can’t do much organizing right now? 

Maia: JOIN ANYWAY! 

Even if all you do is sign up, your membership will help lend weight to the letters AABB sends to publishers & legislators. As of January 2025, AABB has 3500+ members. Check out the recent open letter to publishers on AABB’s socials & feel free to share it with your contacts. 

An Open Letter to Our Publishers- instagram.com/p/DCzYmKcR8uq

Maia: I’ve been facing intense challenges to my book since 2021. Knowing that I am not alone in the fight against censorship is what keeps my spirits up! 

Watching the folks in AABB share information, co-write legislation, show up to library & school board meetings, & speak up to publishers about the need to protect diverse books & minority authors has been amazing! 

This is a weird & scary time to be an author, but you are not alone! Join thousands of us fighting for the freedom to read, the freedom to write, the freedom to teach, the freedom to learn, & the freedom to share our stories!

Authors Against Book Bans -

Authors Against Book Bans

Our Mission Statement We are Authors Against Book Bans. We, a coalition of writers, illustrators, anthology editors and contributors, and ot

AABB on instagram / AABB on bluesky

Is sorrow the true wild?

And if it is—and if we join them—your wild to mine—what’s that?

For joining, too, is a kind of annihilation. What if we joined our sorrows, I’m saying. I’m saying: What if that is joy?

The Book of Delights -- Ross Gay

Plein Air Paintings by Tomas Honz

sweet sweet summertime

Me: I want to create! But…it’ll be bad.

Voice inside of me: So let it be bad. 

Me: Let it be bad? 

Voice inside of me: Let it be bad. 

Me: Let it be bad!

When you can make it out in time to write them shower thoughts can actually be life changing

The three-ring binder is the apex of book technology, by the way. All the advantages of a codex, plus you can add, remove, and reorder pages at will - pages which you can furthermore protect from damage in transparent sleeves, and store commentaries, notes, and other paratextual addenda behind them without obscuring the primary content. Truly the queen of codices. Reblog if you love the three-ring binder.

fascinating that when you tell people "you have to learn the rules to break them" when talking about drawing/painting etc everyone nods and agrees but the second you say "you have to read books if you want to write better" there's a horde of contrarians begging to be the wrongest people ever all of a sudden