By now, you've probably all heard about the rise in books being banned and challenged. What's happening in the state of Virginia is particularly alarming, especially for independent bookstore owners like myself.

My name is Emily and I own The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach. I've been working on ways to fight the book bans, especially those with the potential to affect what privately owned, independent bookstores have the right to sell. Many other organizations, indie bookstores, authors, and citizens have also been speaking out and taking action, but our fight is far from over.

In case you're not already aware, a Virginia judge is currently reviewing two books (Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas). The judge ordered the authors and publishers of the books to present more evidence to evaluate whether the books are appropriate to be sold or possessed in Virginia, by either minors or adults. The case was initiated under a state law by two Republican politicians, Tim Anderson (a Virginia state delegate) and now former congressional candidate Tommy Altman, that allows any Virginia citizen to file a complaint against any book sold in the state. The petitioners have also asked for a preliminary injunction against booksellers to prevent sales of the books. If the judge does issue a temporary restraining order, Virginia booksellers won’t be able to obtain copies of the books from the publishers and authors. And if the court finds the books to be obscene (or obscene for minors), they’ll also be at risk of criminal prosecution if they decide to sell them.

The repercussions of this are extensive. Owning, lending, displaying, or even transporting these books would be a crime if this court case proceeds. And Tim Anderson, the Virginia state delegate, has stated that there are many other books that they could and may pursue the same legal action against in the future. Book banning has already succeeded in at least 23 different school districts throughout Virginia, including Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Chesapeake City Public Schools, Suffolk City Public Schools, Loudoun County Schools, and many others.

I believe we need to speak out to ensure that this doesn't happen and to make it clear to our representatives and our community that this is not okay. It doesn't matter what titles or authors are on the chopping block - banning books in any way, shape, or form is censorship, plain and simple. Banning one or two books opens the door for many, many others to be banned as well. And this issue is not just about the state of Virginia either, because if this happens, it sets the precedent for other states to do the same thing.

More information about this situation, with links and further reading can be found on my website at https://thevioletfoxbookshop.square.site/va-book-ban

If you agree, I'd like to ask you to please take action.

1. Share this information with your community whether that's in person or online.

2. Sign the petition calling for a stop to book bans in the state of Virginia here:  https://chng.it/Sx4b267nKz

3. And contact your representatives and ask them to take a stance!

It's important to note that The National Coalition Against Censorship, along with American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU of Virginia, American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Library Association, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Freedom to Read Foundation, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, Virginia Association of School Librarians, and Virginia Library Association, released a statement on June 1st, 2022 condemning this effort to ban books in the state of Virginia. You can read the full statement here: https://ncac.org/news/virginia-legal-threat-freedom-to-read.  And On June 22, 2022, the ACLU of Virginia and their clients —local bookstores Prince Books, Read Books, One More Page Books, and bbgb tales for kids, as well as American Booksellers for Free Expression, Association of American Publishers, Inc., Authors Guild, Inc., American Library Association, Virginia Library Association, and Freedom to Read Foundation—filed motions seeking to dismiss obscenity proceedings against two books, highlighting the unconstitutional nature of the proceedings and noting that the books are not obscene as a matter of law. Read more here:

https://www.aclu.org/cases/virginia-obscenity-proceedings-against-two-books.

We are a community of diverse individuals and our bookshelves should reflect that. Please stand with me and the rest of the readers in Virginia to resist book bans.