“When I read a daring book or listen to rebellious music, I feel like I’ve found what freedom really means.”
—Carla H. Krueger
MEET THE AUTHORS!
Let’s Celebrate the Freedom to Read!
Not to mention, the freedom to WRITE! Get Your Tickets NOW for Book Festival Sunday.
As you HOPEFULLY know, our second annual Author Showcase and Book Festival will be on Sunday, June 4, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Winston Family YMCA at 221 Riverside Ave. We will be featuring more than 30 different local women authors and other underrepresented communities on a variety of topics. We’re so excited about our speakers, too!
- Leah Wolchok, co-director, ‘Judy Blume Forever’
- Madeline Pitts, Girl Scout and founder, All Books Count
- Peyton Pitts, poet and high school student
- Victoria and ”Bella the Scientist” Spence, authors, writers
- Elizabeth Anderson, Florida Freedom to Read Project
- Kati Johnston and Casey Raasio, founders, RebelReadersFlorida
- Erika D’Amore, Florida Freedom to Read Project
- Nina Perez, MomsRising
- Taryn “LoveReigns” Wharwood, poet and author
Not to mention, we will have a children’s reading room run by MomsRising as a safe and fun place to read and play, ongoing author readings, an art display by artist Dr. Lisa Meek in the lobby, and an art demo by artist Teresa Cook. So join us! Register now to let us know you’re coming and to get raffle tickets for book giveaways! REGISTER HERE.
TONIGHT: Watch Party for Judy Blume Forever at Rain Dogs!
Join us for a watch party about Judy Blume, author of 29-often banned books for kids and young adults. She’ll be telling her own story, assisted by Jacksonville native Leah Wolchok, who co-directed and co-produced the documentary, Judy Blume Forever.
Come to this free watch party at Rain Dogs in Five Points and support women like Judy, Leah, and all the other writers who have been banned, criticized, and censored—especially here in Florida. The more we know, the more we can reduce the fear and misinformation that causes book banning to begin with. REGISTER HERE.
Anthology Submissions Open: Get ready for Vol. 5, AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
We just opened submissions for our fifth anthology, (a) river rising, which will center the theme of justice. ARTISTS AND WRITERS, SUBMIT HERE!
Register for The Watch Party
Call for Submissions
What We’ve Been Up to Lately
And Justice for All Exhibition Closes
A Tender Night of Justice for All
What a beautiful and tender evening contemplating and celebrating this journey of Justice, even in these difficult days of continuous attempts to suppress the voices of women and the BIPOC and LGBQTIA+ communities. A reminder, however, that Justice, like our voices, is a river that will move past all obstacles, flowing and shifting until reaching mother ocean. You cannot shut down ideas. You cannot shut down our voices. We will always find our way to freedom. Always.—JW
The Last Word
“A word to the unwise.
Torch every book.
Char every page.
Burn every word to ash.
Ideas are incombustible.
And therein lies your real fear.”
―Ellen Hopkins