One of New Zealand's best-selling authors of books for children and young people, William Taylor, is to speak at a “Courage Day” event in Auckland this Saturday, supporting freedom of speech and opposing the persecution of writers with dissenting views. Taylor, author of several gay-themed novels which have won both awards and brickbats in New Zealand, is one of the few New Zealand authors to have made the American Library Association's list of banned and proscribed books, and will be speaking on this experience at the event. “Courage Day” is organised by the New Zealand Society of Authors, of which Taylor is currently president, and is named after gay New Zealand novelist and poet James Courage, who faced censorship over his expressions of gay orientation in several of his writings. The two-hour event, which brings together a variety of guests including sacked Herald cartoonist Malcolm Evans, begins at 4.45pm this Saturday November 15 at St Matthew's in the City, central Auckland.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 13th November 2003 - 12:00pm