Malinda Lo

Thanks to the prodigious efforts of @massaabb.bsky.social @aclum.bsky.social @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social and the support of key senators there are now SEVERAL amendments that protect authors and strengthen the bill. MA folks please contact your senators: www.massfreedomtoread.org/news/cta-sup...

An exciting update! Mass Freedom To Read has been working overtime to get amendments filed that substantially strengthen this bill, and all the amendments have been filed! It's time to contact your MA senators to urge them to support the amendment: www.massfreedomtoread.org/news/cta-sup...

Ugh. Sorry to hear that.

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I used to think that getting involved with legislative work would inspire me and give me a sense of community. I have a sense of community now: with authors. Because we understand that nobody else gives a shit about us. That inspiration though is hard to find. I'm mostly feeling anger these days.

While the bill allows parents, students, and guardians to challenge book removals in state court, it does not allow creators and authors to do so. In its current form, the bill leaves authors unprotected from being discriminated against due to their identity.

But anyone in MA who believes in the freedom of speech and understands that authors deserve a seat at the table can write to their senators. Mass Freedom to Read, the coalition I have been volunteering with, has sample email language here: www.massfreedomtoread.org/news/urgent-...

@massaabb.bsky.social has been urging fellow MA authors to write to their state senators and copy Julian Cyr, the senator who sponsored this bill, with their concerns and their requests for the bill to provide protections to authors.

I'm posting here as myself, an author who has had 6 of my 7 books banned in at least 20 states. It's only a matter of time before someone in MA decides to follow the example of SC, FL, or TX and ban my books here, too. The only thing that can stop that is a good freedom to read bill. This isn't it.

An earlier iteration of the bill DID include protections for creators. WHY has this bill removed these protections? It also has weak first amendment protections, and is silent on who is allowed to challenge books. I've been working on advocacy for this bill for 6 months now. I am so disappointed.

Republicans have made it easier for book bans across the country. Massachusetts Democrats are looking to curb them here. - The Boston Globe The Massachusetts Senate will vote Thursday on legislation that would create a set of rules and restrictions for school districts to follow when adding or removing school library materials.

The MA Senate will be voting on An Act Regarding Free Expression on Thursday 11/13. This Boston Globe article touts this as a positive development, but while the protections for libraries are welcome, this version of the bill strips all protections from authors. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/08/m...

Enjoying the good news this morning! Take the wins when you get them

Kaohly Her wins historic election, will be St. Paul’s first Hmong mayor Her, who entered the race in August, defeated her former boss Mayor Melvin Carter in his bid for a third term.

Also a surprise upset in St Paul, Minnesota as Kaohly Her, who came to the United States at age 4, becomes the city’s first Hmong (and first Asian) mayor.

www.startribune.com/st-paul-mayo...

I'll go ahead and say it. Texas book banners got their butts kicked in tonight's school board elections. Again.

Thank you! Yes, it first appeared in an anthology. Lightspeed reprinted it online, and then it was anthologized again. I don't think the books are still in print, so I'm happy about Lightspeed!

Me, with a lady knight book from 2019: I would also like to be at this party.

Ash — Malinda Lo

Everything olde is new again. If you haven’t read my books that were published as paranormal romance but would now be categorized as romantasy, and are actually fantasy, maybe now’s a good time to check them out! www.malindalo.com/ash

Lady Knights Are Having a Moment A spate of new novels featuring strong and sometimes sapphic women warriors could presage the next big thing in fantasy.

This is the PW article, in which they also report that “First, it was fairies, courtesy of Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses,” to which I have to object: This is Holly Black erasure!! Also I wrote about fairies a long long time ago (2009).
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

One True Love - Lightspeed Magazine It is never lucky for a child to kill her mother in the course of her own birth. Perhaps for this reason, the soothsayer who attended the naming ceremony for Princess Essylt was not a celebrated one. ...

According to Publishers Weekly, “lady knights are having a moment,” so let me share with you my lady knight story, “One True Love,” first published in 2012 and available to read for free at Lightspeed: www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/one-...

Great news! I’m so happy for you both.

"I DON'T NEED YOU TO FUCKING REWRITE WHAT I'VE JUST WRITTEN!"

Enshrining the right to read in the state would be a start. So, too, would overturning this particular law in the state.

What we need are people getting this vicious and cruel laws overturned.

We do NOT need people sending copies of the book to these kids.

Battling book bans in Beantown and beyond - The Tufts Daily I consider myself to be generally aware of the state of book banning in the United States. I read about the fights going on in school districts and libraries throughout Florida, Tennessee and Texas. I...

Thanks to The Tufts Daily for covering #MassFreedomToRead and An Act Regarding Free Expression! www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025... @massaabb.bsky.social @authorsabb.bsky.social @danaalisonlevy.bsky.social

I realized yesterday one reason I am so angry at "AI" is because the companies behind it stole my words to make the monster they worship. I don't want my words to be part of this, but they gave me no choice. May the monster they created eat them and destroy them. 🧙🏻‍♀️

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Oh I see, they exclude YA, comics and poetry. Weirdly, I can see why they would exclude comics and poetry as they are quite different from fiction. YA is excluded just because they hate it

I should not be surprised by how much awards want to exclude YA, but that is really sad. What’s this $100K award?

Generally, I think it’s great. I hope it brings some prestige and attention to children’s lit in the UK. It don’t think it will affect the US much. It also ignores picture books and YA, but I guess that’s not surprising? I think 8-12 is the age the public generally thinks of as “children.”

This news is so intriguing! The prize will be focused on books published for children ages 8-12. It will be judged initially by 3 adults who come up with a shortlist, then 3 children will join the judging. Huge financial award to author, plus 30K copies of the honored books will be given to kids.