On July 30, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators kicked off its 2026 Virtual Summer Conference with the organization’s third annual panel dedicated to a timely topic: “What the Industry Really Thinks About Book Banning.” Before launching into the discussion, SCBWI’s executive director Sarah Baker recognized the Authors Coalition of America for its support, and introduced moderator Alvina Ling, VP and publisher of Alvina Ling Books and a member of SCBWI’s advisory council.

Ling began by welcoming each of the four panelists: Phil Bildner, middle grade novelist and founder of the Author Village booking agency; Cheryl L. Davis, playwright, television writer, and general counsel at the Authors Guild; Black non-binary author George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren’t Blue); and Namrata Tripathi, founder and publisher of Kokila.

Before diving into her first question, Ling emphasized that the panel’s focus would not be on the politics of book banning, but rather the effects. She cited PEN America’s recent report detailing the increase in targeted demographics across the board. Banned books about people of color represented 44% (up from 36%), LGBTQ+ books made up 39% (up from 25%), titles relating to trans and queer people comprised 19% (up from 7%), and stories about neurodivergent or disabled people accounted for 10%. Ling asked each of the panelists what impact these bans have had on the industry as a whole.

“In a word, [it’s] devastating,” Bildner said. “It’s not hyperbolic to say that books save lives.” He reflected on his own childhood as a deeply closeted, self-hating gay kid who did not experience the type of books that would have changed the course of his life. “The fact that we’re denying kids access to these books today is crushing,” Bildner said.

Johnson offered their perspective as an author, noting how the bans have made it more challenging to write the types of books that some authors want to write. Meanwhile, general access to books has been reduced across the country, compounded by a lack of disposable income for many families. “The assumption that every city has a library is just not the case. There are a lot of places in this country where the nearest library may be 30 or 40 miles away. So, if they don’t have access to books in school, they simply don’t have access to it all,” they said.

On the publishing side, Tripathi said, “Books are a tool for expanding a kid’s imaginative capacity. As we start to limit the opportunity to see a lot of different worlds, the effects are really serious.”

Davis shared her memories of growing up as a young Black reader who sought representation in the books she chose. “Limiting these types of books also limits the ways kids see themselves and their possibilities,” she said. “The more voices out there, the better.” Davis also pointed to the work of the Biden administration’s “Book Ban Czar,” Matt Nosanchuk, who had been investigating the discriminatory impact on kids in school. “I think those issues are worth looking into: if you limit a child’s ability to see themselves in the books they read, does that make them feel unwelcome in their classroom and that their stories don’t matter?”

Johnson, whose All Boys Aren’t Blue has topped book ban lists for the past few years, said, “On one side, it keeps the title out there and it may be reaching people who never even thought about purchasing the book.” However, Johnson noted, there is a misconception that the marketplace is made up solely of Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and independent bookstores. “For many of us, it’s school and library sales. When our books are not on summer reading lists, that’s a huge blow to any author.” He also noted that publicity for banned books is often focused on the top 10 titles. “What happens to number 11, which has the same amount of removal from school systems, but doesn’t get seen?”

When Bans Get Personal

Authors are also experiencing the residual effect of book bans on school visits. Bildner, who manages speaking engagements for children’s book creators through the Author Village, noted the difficulty in scheduling events for queer and BIPOC writers. “In the past, it used to be a PTA, or teacher, or principal coordinating the visits, but now it requires a different layer of approval through the district or a school board vote,” he said. More paperwork is involved, with schools treating authors as independent contractors that need to obtain liability insurance and share their presentations in advance.

Book banning has impacted Tripathi’s Kokila imprint, with more than a fourth of its titles officially challenged or banned in the past two years. “But it has not changed the way I acquire books,” she said. “We joke that I need to keep making the books they want to ban so badly.”

Another topic—shadow banning—is also on the industry’s radar, evidenced by PEN America’s tracking of school administrators that have banned books without cause. Davis noted that the Guild is currently handling six such cases across the country and that in Idaho, where laws are in place to keep certain books out of the hands of minors, there are small libraries that have become adults-only. “We are not just seeing it in the removal of books, but in the reclassification of books. It’s a way of banning them without banning them,” she said.

“Reclassification is denying access to kids who need these books the most; it’s just another form of censorship,” Bildner added.

Ling asked the panelists if any have found themselves self-censoring their work. Johnson responded without hesitation, “No, it’s just made me go out and write more queer stuff. It really encouraged me to continue writing the way that I had been, without being fearful. It has also pushed me to explore new adult and adult as other markets to tell these stories,” Johnson said, whose new adult memoir And If I Die Before I Wake (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) will publish in November. They noted their own experience as a 17-year-old who read Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans with their mom. “Adult books will make their way to children anyway.”

Bildner, too, is “leaning into the moment.” For his next book, Too Big to Say (Little, Brown)—a middle grade hybrid that is part novel, part graphic novel—he is working with Mike Curato, author-illustrator of the semi-autobiographical Flamer. “There’s a lot of intersectionality in this book, and we are going to relentlessly defend the right for this book to exist and the right for kids to read this book,” Bildner said.

Ling asked the panelists to propose actions for fighting book banning. Davis suggested utilizing the Guild’s recently issued book banning toolkit that offer guidelines and tips. “If there are school board meetings addressing particular books that may be removed, go speak at them,” she said. “We try to let people know what’s going on in their area, and we welcome you to tell us so we can circulate that info.”

Bildner noted, “Speaking at school board meetings can be a little daunting, so go with a friend.” He advised people that if they don’t know what to say, they can read their favorite picture book to the school board. “It’s an easy thing that everybody can do.”

To close out the panel, Ling asked each panelist to share their favorite banned book. Tripathi mentioned the celebratory LGBTQ+ picture book My Rainbow by mother-daughter collaborators DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal, which was challenged by parents in a Maryland school district on religious grounds (the U.S. Supreme Court later sided with the parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor). Bildner gave a personal shout-out to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, his former student. And both Davis and Johnson named Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Johnson credited the author for being a gateway to Black horror, while Davis said, “I found that book shattering.”