Brian Katcher

In view of the recent outcry surrounding a Tennessee school board’s decision to ban Art Spiegelman’s Maus, and the increasing prevalence of similar actions throughout the country (including Missouri), we really wanted to have a conversation about banned books this year. Is it ever appropriate to ban a book? Who is really being protected, and from what? Brian Katcher brings a unique double perspective to this issue. In addition to being an acclaimed author whose novel, Almost Perfect, was 81st on the American Library Association’s list of most banned and challenged books for 2010-2019, he is also a school librarian. He’ll be joined on the panel by Maia Kobabe and the Dean of MU Law School and First Amendment expert, Lyrissa Lidsky.