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.
