What do the dystopian worlds of Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and 1984 all have in common? Banned books. And with literary censorship on the rise – in 2023 almost 2000 books were targeted for banning in America alone – the distinction between these fictional worlds and our own may not be as stark as we think.

Adam Dudding talks to three major creative figures fighting back against the bans: best-selling author and three-time National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff is opening a new bookshop in her home state of Florida dedicated to selling banned titles and books by marginalised writers; artist and Singapore Literature Prize-winning writer Shubigi Rao has dedicated a decade to documenting the history of censored books from all over the world; and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen, who credits reading so-called “dangerous literature” as what shaped him as a reader and writer, speaks and writes widely on the dangers of censorship.

AUCKLAND WRITERS FESTIVAL WAITUHI O TĀMAKI 2024

SUNDAY 19 MAY 2024 11.30AM-12.30PM, HUNUA ROOM, AOTEA CENTRE