On Amal Unbound being banned (and sign up for OMAR RISING ARCs!)
Dear Readers,
Hope you all have been well. It’s been a few weeks and I wanted to quickly drop in a note and share a few happenings for you.
Banning Books
Well, this was a first. A few days ago I learned that my book, Amal Unbound, was on a list of books banned alongside many many other books in a school district in Pennsylvania. From what I’ve been able to gather a group of conscientious educators gathered diverse books for a reading list. When the school board in question learned of it, the committee banned all the books on the list by unanimous vote. If you’re curious what books have been banned you can check them out here (there are tabs below, and yep all those books are banned). As you can see I’m in excellent company.
As baffling and disappointing as it is, I am in awe of the students fighting back and making their voices heard and the organizations stepping in to push against this. Some people have a misconception that banning a book can backfire by bringing more attention to the book due to the controversy surrounding its ban. But this book ban had been in place nearly a year before it's coming to light. Most books that are banned do not make headlines. They hurt everyone from writers to, most cuttingly, young people deprived of access to books.
Keynote for Nerdy Book Club Georgia tomorrow September 18 at 2pmEST!
I’ll be giving the closing remarks at the Georgia chapter for Nerdy Book Club virtually this year. It’s a forty-five minute free event with time for Q&A (you don’t have to be Georgian to register. It's free and sign up is here.
Omar Rising ARCs
OMAR RISING hits shelves February 1 and ARCs are not yet available (supply chain issues are a thing unfortunately) but I am passing on my list of ARC requests by the end of the month. Next week I’ll open this form up to the public at large, but in the meantime if you’re interested and didn’t fill it out yet, please do so here.
If you're planning on gifting books this holiday season. . .
It feels funny to discuss holiday gifts when we're still in the middle of September but this is another supply chain issue and from many independent bookstores I'm hearing they're worried about getting gifts out to customers to reach them in time for the holidays. But if you order right now, you'll be in the clear! If you were planning to gift any of my books to someone in your life, just a reminder that there are signed copies at Little Shop of Stories!
Do you have a craft question?
I sometimes share craft related thoughts in my newsletter. Do you have a craft or writing question? If so, you can hit reply and ask, I will try to answer them in upcoming newsletters.
Thank you so much for reading and for subscribing. If you found any benefit in these words please do forward it on to someone else who might like it.
xx
Aisha
If you’d like to support my work, my books are listed below (available to purchase wherever books are sold). Omar Rising, out Feb 2022, is available where books are sold!
If you’d like to bring me in for a speaking opportunity, please reach out to The Author Village and fill out the form here!
And as always if you liked one of my books, and are so inclined, please leave a review on Barnes and Nobles, Amazon or Goodreads they can make such a difference (and thank you so much for your support; authors cannot do what we do without your support)!
Young Wonder Woman Adventures: Diana and the Island of No Return (1),
Young Wonder Woman Adventures: Diana and the Underworld Odyssey (2)
Once Upon an Eid (co-edited with S.K. Ali) (middle grade)
Yes No Maybe So (co-authored with Becky Albertalli) (young adult)
Aladdin: Far From Agrabah (middle grade)
Bilal Cooks Daal (picture book)
Amal Unbound (middle grade)
Written In The Stars (young adult)