In September 2024, during Banned Books Week, Penguin Random House (PRH) expanded its Intellectual Freedom Taskforce, a group dedicated to protecting the freedom to read, by naming Rosie Stewart senior manager of public policy. Stewart—who cofounded MOVE (Mobilize, Organize, Vote, Empower) Texas, an organization focused on empowering underrepresented youth communities through civic engagement, issue advocacy, and leadership development—comes to PRH most recently from the American Library Association’s Public Policy and Advocacy office, where she served as manager of grassroots communications. She recently spoke about her new job and what gives her hope.
Rosie Stewart, senior public policy manager at Penguin Random House. (Credit: Benjamin Wimmel)
What are some highlights from your first months in this role?
Highlights have been visits to libraries and bookstores. At PRH we did the Banned Wagon tour, and I got to go to the Milwaukee Public Library. We gave out over three thousand books in a day—banned books like The Outsiders and Hair Love, things you can’t believe are banned.
Does advocacy in the for-profit world differ from advocacy in the nonprofit world?
The coffee machine is nicer! PRH does not have boundless resources, but the resources are greater. PRH is a really mission-driven organization, and I hear people talk about the mission a lot, which is very similar to [a nonprofit]. The mission is to create books for everyone. And that’s why this is so important to us.
How is the focus on proactive legislation that protects the right to read a necessary complement to the litigation work PRH is doing to fight bans?
The legislative focus is really key, showing the people who are already doing this advocacy at the state capitols that we have their backs, whether that’s contracting with local groups, supporting them financially, or connecting them to other relationships that we might have…. Many people in a lot of these difficult [locations] need hope and something to organize around, rather than feeling like they are constantly on the defensive, wondering what is coming next in this assault on books.
If a state does not yet have a Right to Read Act, what steps do you take?
I touch base with people who are on the ground. I’ve tried to come into a state and have conversations with a broad array of stakeholders to make those connections and convene groups that are going to be key to making sure that we can get good legislation passed, [legislation] that is responsive to the needs of the people who are working in the field.
How should people who are not librarians or legislators get involved?
First, I would say “call me,” because I definitely want to know. But also get involved in whatever kind of professional association or groups already exist in your state. The state library associations do so much great work. See if your state has a Freedom to Read project. PEN America has a publicly accessible index of all the books that are being banned [in school libraries across the United States]. Unite Against Book Bans [sends] out targeted geographic alerts to let people know if there are concerning issues going on in their communities.
What other initiatives are you working on?
One of the things that is hardest to coordinate but perhaps most important to do is to get parents speaking at school boards, particularly parents of students whose perspectives are represented in these books that are getting taken off the shelves. The book banners have such a strong voice on parental rights that [we need] parents [to] come in and say, “What about my parental right to have my child see their perspective on the shelf?”
Kids can access new communities and ideas on the internet. Why do they need to find them in books?
We know that if kids see themselves in the books they are reading, they are more likely to become lifelong readers. The fact that our kids get access to a complete thought from an author helps them understand themselves and the world around them. If I had a child I would prefer that a certified, trained librarian directed them through that discovery, rather than the algorithm, so to speak.
Name your favorite banned book.
Personally, 1984 by George Orwell. It exposes the logic of authoritarianism and totalitarian governments—the concept of “doublespeak.” All of this book banning is being done to “protect children.” It doesn’t protect children to remove their and other people’s perspectives from the library.
Do you have a “why” for this work?
One thing is my experience as a trans woman. If I had books growing up that accurately reflected my perspective, I think I would have saved years of heartache and loneliness and been able to take care of myself better.
What is giving you hope right now?
The number and scale and scope of different groups working on this issue. It’s harder to coordinate when it is a genuine grassroots movement of so many different people from so many walks of life trying to move in one direction, but that gives me hope. The challenge is, how do we organize that into a cohesive movement that has an impact on public policy? I feel lucky to get to play whatever small role I get to play in that fight.
Emily Pérez is the author of What Flies Want (University of Iowa Press, 2022), a winner of the Iowa Prize, and a coeditor of the anthology The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood (University of Georgia Press, 2022). She lives in Denver with her family.
