Pride month is more than celebratory in a time when book bans are on the rise in the United States, and 26% of the titles banned “have LGBTQ+ characters or themes,” according to PEN America. With politicians like Ron DeSantis determined to make “anti-wokeness” part of the Republican brand, this neologism for hate-speech has taken the form of book and media censorship in school and public libraries around the country. One of these banned books, entitled Worm Loves Worm, was written by a close friend named J. J. Austrian, who joins me for this episode of the podcast. Illustrated by Mike Curato and published by Harper Collins in 2016, Worm Loves Worm is a story for young children about two earthworms getting married and trying to figure out which is the bride and which is the groom while navigating the not-so-helpful advice and opinions of the other bugs and critters in attendance.

Show Contents

01:22 - How does it feel to be among the banned?
03:42 - The creation of Worm Loves Worm.
08:12 - What children get from Worm Loves Worm.
09:36 - It’s not about sex. Indoctrination to what?
12:23 – Attacks on the transgender community.
15:03 – Did you expect the backlash when the book first came out?
18:34 -Is it hard not to look at the negative comments?
20:19 – The “shotgun wedding.”
21:50 - Increase in attacks since it was first published.
24:10 - More worried about middle grade and young adult readers.
28:10 - Ever criticized for writing about a subject that’s not your subject? (outside your lane)
34:45 - Do you have Woke Mind Virus?
37:15 – A conversation about satire.
44:33 – How banning can affect the author.
47:44 - The victim’s narrative.
50:15 – Hope for the future?
52:44 – The Printing Press and the Internet
57:05 – Love is love.

On Being Among the Banned with Author J. J. Austrian