Episode #31
Even more Lies, Damn Lies, and Listicles: On Blacklists and Book Bans Part 3
We are FINALLY wrapping up our accidental trilogy on author blacklists, book bans, and the dangers of missing context, and we will do this by providing context, so there's that! We talk about what it means to designate a writer as dangerous, problematic, or even culturally "forbidden." From the fatwa against Salman Rushdie to N*zi book burnings, McCarthyism, and today’s organized school and library bans, we explore why “just a list on Threads or Instagram” isn’t as harmless as it might seem. You’re allowed to dislike writers. You’re allowed to hate their books. But maybe don’t participate in cultural purges? Would be cool if you didn't. And in Hot Goss: the Horror Writers Association has stepped in it yet again. We unravel the increasingly ugly dispute between former HWA executive director Max Gold and the organizers of Creepaway Camp, HWA's recent leadership turmoil, and why HWA may need to clean house before it goes the way of the Romance Writers of America. (Remember them?) Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty. Show email: [badlitfriends@gmail.com](mailto:badlitfriends@gmail.com) Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social Threads: @badlitfriends Instagram: @badlitfriends Website: https://www.badlitfriends.com/ Show notes: Horror Writers Association is the hottest mess out there: https://www.threads.com/@brian_keene/post/DckHjFWDVRT?xmt=AQG0vmkgyXcoM8xsEBN8kSYXx2b3tM6wPh_yv8jCSDhLIhHeBpldb7fEf9_DeI9-o0bAReey&slof=1 Angela Yuriko Smith on her resignation as president of HWA: https://www.threads.com/@pedroparo2/post/DcpBXnWjwZk?xmt=AQG0HmZqWBPJuiBpGHx-_PXXCR3GOMgkwYgnS6wKb-As1HuHbytU2BN37IZkKLH5K53kfug https://www.fandompulse.com/p/hwa-dissolves-its-executive-director https://www.prospectpark.org/event/sugar-shock-a-new-play-by-regina-robbins/2026-09-27/ PEN America: 6,870 school-book bans in the 2024–25 school year; nearly 23,000 since 2021: https://pen.org/report/the-normalization-of-book-banning American Library Association counted 5,668 books banned from libraries in 2025 and another 920 restricted. 92% of 2025 challenges originated with pressure groups, government officials, or other decision-makers. Fewer than 3% came from individual parents: https://pen.org/report/the-normalization-of-book-banning This is organized list-based censorship: people circulating rosters of titles, often without reading them, and demanding institutional removal. Lists, you say? Huh! Uh oh, it’s that man again! (Meagan deals in current references only, which is why she just made one to a BBC radio programme that started in the late 1930s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flvKCWIfT2w )
