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ABFFE
UPDATE
September 22, 2008 Previously
in ABFFE Update
Volume 10,
Number 9
Free Speech Groups Urge Congress to Ban "Libel Tourism"
On September 10,
ABFFE and 18 groups issued a statement urging Congress to protect
American writers and publishers from the growing threat posed by libel
suits that are filed in foreign countries in an effort to intimidate
them. The lawsuits are filed in countries that offer less protection
for criticism than the United States and where the burden of proof rests
with the defendant to prove the truth of any allegedly libelous
statement. Defendants in these
cases sometimes have to defend their books in countries where they have
never been published. The practice of filing foreign libel cases
against Americans has been denounced as "libel tourism."
The statement, which
was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, calls for passage of the
Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 (S. 2977). Modeled on a New York
law, S. 2977 provides that foreign libel judgments cannot be enforced in
the United States if the speech is not actionable under U.S. law. S.
2977 also authorizes U.S. authors to countersue the foreign plaintiffs
in a U.S. court for damages of up to three times the amount of the
foreign judgment if the foreign plaintiff acted to suppress their
speech.
Click
here to read the statement.
Bookstores, Libraries Ready for Banned Books Week
Next week, hundreds
of bookstores and libraries across the country will celebrate Banned
Books Week, the only national celebration of the freedom to read.
Over 150 booksellers and librarians have submitted information about the
displays and events they are organizing for the 27th annual
event, held this year from Sept. 27 through Oct. 4. The
information is displayed on a new Web site,
www.bannedbooksweek.org, which was launched this year by
ABFFE, the American Library Association (ALA), and other sponsors of
Banned Books Week. The Web site is
designed to help the public learn about Banned Books Week and suggest ways they
can support it. Its key feature is a list that visitors can use to find
participating bookstores and libraries in their communities. (To
submit information to the Web site, click here.)
To kick off Banned
Books Week this year, the American Library Association Office for Intellectual
Freedom, the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum, and the Chicago Tribune
will host a Banned Books Week Read-Out in Chicago. The event will
feature popular banned and challenged authors, including Judy Blume,
Lois Lowry, and Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and local Chicago
celebrities.
Among the many
events and displays planned around the country, King's Books in Tacoma,
WA, will host "Storytime with Banned Books," a panel discussion on Internet filtering,
two film screenings, and a panel discussion on censorship and
intellectual freedom, organized with the Collins Memorial Library at the University
of Puget Sound campus. Moravian Bookshop in Bethlehem, PA, will offer a community
scroll that reads, "I Read Banned Books," for customers and elected
officials to sign and ballots that customers can use to vote for their
favorite banned books.
ABFFE Offers Teachers Support in Censorship Battles
ABFFE's
support for teachers who confront efforts to censor books is highlighted
in an article in the new RHI Magazine, a publication for educators
issued by Random House. The magazine focuses on censorship and banned books
and features
articles from prominent free speech advocates and educators. ABFFE
President Chris Finan's article, "Your Bookseller: A Friend of
Free Speech," describes the crucial role booksellers play in
supporting free speech in their communities.
Click
here to read the article.
To request a free copy of
the magazine, contact Rebecca Zeidel,
(212) 587-4025 ext. 13;
rebecca@abffe.com.
ABFFE Book of the Month for
September
is "Obscene in the Extreme"
 The
ABFFE Book of the Month for September is Obscene in the Extreme:
the Burning and Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath by
Rick Wartzman (Public Affairs), 978-1586483319. Wartzman describes
the uproar that occurred in Kern County, California, when The Grapes of
Wrath was published in 1939. Much of the novel was set in Kern
County, and local officials attempted to ban the book for
misrepresenting their community and for language and situations they
considered indecent. The censors were opposed by the local
librarian and ACLU.
Click here to read an interview
with Rick Wartzman.
To read about recent ABFFE Book of the Month selections, click
here.
Show Your Support for Freadom!
ABFFE's
popular "freadom" t-shirts, buttons, bookmarks, bumper
stickers and more are available during Banned Books Week and all year round.
To
order online, visit the ABFFE store.
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