In this episode, Maggie Tokuda-Hall speaks about refusing to write to market expectations. She reflects on her experience with censorship and her picture book Love in the Library—which ultimately led to her being a founding member of Authors Against Book Bans.

Maggie also shares what it's like to author graphic novels, including The Worst Ronin and Squad, and to collaborate with artists throughout the process. She also highlights information on how listeners can fight book bans, as well as the most important action they can all take right now. On the topic, Olivia shares an opportunity for individuals to join a Banned Books Week Read-In this October to protest ongoing censorship.

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Maggie Tokuda-Hall: Maggie Tokuda-Hall has an MFA in creative writing from USF, and BA in art from Scripps College. She’s the author of numerous award winning, best-selling children’s and young adult books including Love in the Library, The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea duology, Squad, and The Worst Ronin. She has been called “... one of the most unflinching voices in contemporary genre literature.” Maggie is a founding member and national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. She is the co-host of the Failure to Adapt podcast. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog.

Get Maggie’s Books: Love in the Library The Siren, the Song, and the Spy The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea

Books discussed on today’s episode: Cantoras by Caro De Robertis Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti

Banned Books Week resources: Banned Books Week Read-In near you Ways to learn more about and fight bans

In this episode, Craig and Olivia sit down with New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kennedy Ryan to talk about the power of romance, the craft of building interconnected worlds, and why representation—on and off the page—matters.

In the wake of her latest novel’s release, Can’t Get Enough, Kennedy shares how her emotionally rich, socially conscious love stories give voice to characters and communities often overlooked, and why she considers rest a form of resistance. The conversation explores the artistry of series writing, the importance of friendships and family relationships in romance, and her passionate advocacy for audiobooks as an equally valid form of reading.

Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12grqSDcTz7I1wFtZe7mqqPoCY9V9fn4N_Kkomlz22O8/edit?usp=sharing

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Kennedy Ryan: Kennedy Ryan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary romance, praised by Entertainment Weekly as “one of the finest romance writers of our age.” Her award-winning Skyland series—including Before I Let Go, This Could Be Us, and Can’t Get Enough—has earned honors from TIME, Amazon, and Publisher’s Weekly, and is currently in development at Peacock, where she serves as Executive Producer. A two-time Audie Award winner and the first Black author to win the RITA Award for romance, Ryan is also the co-founder of LiFT 4 Autism, which has raised over $500,000 for Kulture City.

Books discussed on today’s episode:

• Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
• Indigo by Beverly Jenkins
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• August Lane by Regina Black
• Restore Me by J.L. Seegars
• Kill Creatures by Rory Power
• The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley

Cory shares the motivation behind keeping his audiobooks off Audible—even if it means sacrificing a paycheck—and explains how DRM laws allow Amazon to exert control over books they didn’t even create. The conversation covers everything from how monopoly power has shaped the digital marketplace, to the rise of “enshittification,” a term Cory coined to describe the lifecycle of once-useful tech platforms. They also discuss the importance of decentralized social media, the future of authorship in a platform-dominated world, and why it’s time to stop trying to shop your way out of broken systems and start organizing for real change.

Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bC4FqH1ZzxPlbtH-Vs1-u-oJFnu4WRKHVHszr4VAbtI/edit?tab=t.0

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Cory Doctotow: Cory Doctorow is a bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction, a longtime advocate for digital rights, and co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. His recent works include The Bezzle, Picks and Shovels, and the upcoming nonfiction book Enshittification. He also runs the daily newsletter Pluralistic.net.

Get Cory’s Books:

• Picks and Shovels
• Enshittification

Books discussed on today’s episode:

• Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read
• Careless People by Lucy Osborne
• Original Sin by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper
• I’ll Tell You When I’m Home by Hala Alyan
• Disappoint Me by Nikole Dinan

In this episode, Craig and Olivia sit down with legendary travel writer and TV host Rick Steves to celebrate the 50th episode of the Libro.fm Podcast. Rick shares insights from his newest book, On the Hippie Trail, a travel memoir drawn from journals he kept as a 23-year-old backpacking from Istanbul to India in the late 1970s. They discuss the importance of journaling and how travel shaped Rick’s lifelong commitment to teaching, storytelling, and political awareness.He also talks about his other book, Travel as a Political Act, and how travel can challenge ethnocentrism, spark empathy, and inspire deeper civic engagement.

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Rick Steves: Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, empowers Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, headquartered in Edmonds, Washington, near Seattle. There he produces a best-selling guidebook series, a popular public television show, a weekly public radio show, a syndicated travel column, and free travel information available through his travel center and ricksteves.com. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful small-group tour program taking 30,000 travelers to Europe annually.

Get Rick’s Books:

• On the Hippie Trail
• Travel as a Political Act

In this episode, Craig and Olivia sit down with Eve L. Ewing—author, scholar, poet, comic book writer, and professor—to talk about her newest book, Original Sins: The (Mis)Education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism. Eve shares the inspirations behind the book, the emotional toll of writing it, and the active role imagination plays in justice and systemic transformation.

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Eve L. Ewing: Eve L. Ewing is a writer, scholar, and cultural organizer from Chicago. She is the award-winning author of four books: Electric Arches, 1919, Ghosts in the Schoolyard, and Maya and the Robot. She is the co-author (with Nate Marshall) of the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks and has written several projects for Marvel Comics.

Photo credit: Jaclyn Rivas

Get Eve’s Book:

• Original Sins
• 1919
• Maya and the Robot
• Ghosts in the Schoolyard

Books discussed on today’s episode:

• The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
• Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
• Codename: Pale Horse by Scott Payne

In this episode of the Libro.fm podcast, Craig and Olivia sit down with Annie B. Jones—author of Ordinary Time: Lessons Learned While Staying Put, owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia, and host of the beloved From the Front Porch podcast. Annie shares the inspiration behind her essay collection, how running an indie bookstore shaped her view of third places, and why books aren’t just escape, but flashlights guiding us back into connection with the world. Plus, see how Libro.fm is celebrating Independent Bookstore Day on April 26!

Celebrate Indie Bookstore Day: https://2ly.link/2608h

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Annie B. Jones: Annie B. Jones is a writer, podcaster, and the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. Jones hosts From the Front Porch, a weekly podcast about books, small business, and life in the South, and her work has been featured in Southern Living magazine. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, she lives in Thomasville with her husband, Jordan, and their dog, Sam Malone.

Get Annie’s Book:

• Ordinary Time

Books discussed on today's episode:

• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
• Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
• Woodworking by Emily St. James

This episode of the Libro.fm podcast features an interview with Amanda Jones, a school librarian and anti-censorship advocate whose book "That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America" became a national bestseller. Amanda discusses her decision to write the book, the process of narrating the audiobook version, and the importance of combating book bans and censorship in libraries and schools. She provides advice for starting grassroots organizations to fight book bans and shares insights on navigating the complex issues around representation and censorship in literary collections.

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

Get Amanda’s Book:
That Librarian

Books discussed on today's episode:

• Banned Together (Our Fight for Readers' Rights) by Ashley Hope Pérez
• Creep by Emma van Straaten
• All Friends Are Necessary by Tomas Moniz
• Big Familia by Tomas Moniz
• The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

In this episode of the Libro.fm podcast, hosts Craig and Karen interview Aaliyah Bilal, author of the 2023 National Book Award finalist "Temple Folk." Aaliyah discusses her creative process and journey to becoming a writer, why she prefers to write short stories and the inspiration behind her collection, and book recommendations for those interested in exploring Islam in Ghana and Sudan.

Read the full transcript:

Use promo code: SWITCH when signing up for a new Libro.fm membership to get two additional credits to use on any audiobooks—meaning you’ll have three from the start.

About Aaliyah: Aaliyah Bilal is an American writer acclaimed for her debut short story collection, Temple Folk, which explores the lives of Black Muslims in 1970s America. The collection was a finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize. Bilal received the 2024 Whiting Award and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

Get Aaliyah's books:

• Temple Folk

Books discussed on today's episode:

• The Prophet of Zongo Street by Mohammed Naseehu Ali
• Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih