The Fight Against Censorship in Literature

2023 is on track to beat last year's record when it comes to book bans. The free speech group PEN America counted 2,500 instances of book bans in U.S. schools during the 2021-22 academic year.

Author Judy Blume has had a number of her books banned. She spoke to NPR ahead of the release of a documentary about her life, "Judy Blume Forever," streaming on Amazon Prime April 21.

And NPR's Tovia Smith spoke to other authors of banned books about how the scrutiny has negatively impacted their sales - and about alternative ways they've found to get their stories to readers, outside of schools.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

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