This year we will be marking Banned Books Week 2022 with a fantastic online event open to all – OMG! You can’t write that: Books, Censorship, and Religion.
In light of the recent horrific attack on Salman Rushdie and the increase in book banning in schools in the US driven by Christian fundamentalists, we wanted to create an event that highlights religious censorship of books.
Join us online on Thursday 22nd September, 7:30pm-9pm as our CEO Fraser Sutherland and our panel of experts discuss book banning, censorship, and religion. On the panel we have:
- Emma Wadsworth-Jones from Humanists International and formerly PEN International. Emma works as Humanists International’s Humanists at Risk Coordinator and manages casework and campaign activities for humanists at risk. Emma was an instrumental part of Mubarak Bala’s team during his blasphemy case in Nigeria.
- Professor Maggie Kinloch, theatre director, Professor Emerita of the Royal Conservatoire Scotland, celebrant, and vice-chair of Humanist Society Scotland will also be joining the panel. Maggie is a passionate humanist, educator, director, and writer. She was also a trailblazer for LGBT rights in Scotland’s Arts world.
- David Greig, playwright and Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum. David has been described by critics as ‘one of the most interesting and adventurous British dramatists of his generation’, and his work has been performed at major theatres across Britain and performed across the world.
- Terry Anderson, cartoonist and Executive Director of Cartoonists Rights Network International which works to create a world where cartoonists are free from persecution and able to use their creativity as a powerful tool for communication. A professional cartoonist and caricaturist, Terry spent a large part of his career producing comics and illustrations for The Glasgow Herald.
The event is free to attend, with donations to the legal fund of former Scottish Award for Humanism winner Mubarak Bala welcomed. Bala is serving a 24 year sentence in Nigeria after being found guilty in 2022 of 18 counts of public disturbance in relation to a ‘blasphemous’ Facebook post that he wrote.
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