Banned Books Week Author Talk with Gabby Rivera at FREIGHT
Banned Books Week was started in 1982 by the American Library Association as a way to bring attention to censorship. During this week, which usually occurs the last week of September or the first week of October, events take place around the country highlighting intellectual freedom and the consequences that occur when censorship takes place. Banned Books Week brings together libraries, publishers, authors, and schools to celebrate the freedom to read.
At Lake County Public Library, we celebrate by inviting nationally and internationally known authors who have experienced their works being banned. This event has grown rapidly since our inaugural event with Nic Stone in 2022 and we are committed to continuing this event.
Mark your calendars now for Thursday, October 8th and join us for an incredible author talk at Freight! Doors open at 5:30pm. Community dinner will be provided before the talk begins at 6:30pm.
Free copies of Juliet Takes A Breath will be available (in both English and Spanish) at the library soon. Stay tuned for updates!
Announcing our 2026 Guest Author: Gabby Rivera!
Gabby Rivera grew up with superheroes on the block. Her mom, aunties, and the women in her community were the strongest people she knew: seamstresses and paramedics who’d sit around the dining table and tell wild tales about their lives in the Bronx. They taught her how to find her strength—in softness, gentleness, and humor. When Marvel Comics asked Gabby to write the story of America Chavez, their first queer Latina superhero, she proved that heroes could be kind and vulnerable, too. The first Latina to ever write for Marvel Comics, Gabby is funny, insightful, authentic, and inspires us all to live a life that is joyfully open and revolutionary. Gabby Rivera is a Bronx-born queer Puerto Rican babe on a mission to create the wildest, most fun stories ever. Gabby is the first Latina ever to write for Marvel comics, penning the solo series AMERICA about America Chavez, a portal-punching queer Latina powerhouse.
Gabby’s critically acclaimed debut novel Juliet Takes a Breath was called “f*cking outstanding” by Roxane Gay and was re-published by Penguin Random House in 2019. Mic named it one of the 25 essential books to read for Women’s History Month, and Latina magazine called it the “dopest LGBTQA YA book ever.”
Gabby presented before the United Nations in 2020 as an invited speaker to their Unstereotyping Alliance Conference, and she has collaborated with groups such as the Ford Motor Company, the Makers Women’s Conference and Somos Familia, to uplift joyful storytelling and the magic of queer diasporicans everywhere.
In 2022, Gabby became a Sundance Screenwriters Fellow and received an Advancing Justice Award from Catalyst California, alongside activist Dolores Huerta and politician Sheila Kuehl. She currently resides on the West Coast and hosts Joy Uprising, a podcast that brings together her favorite revolutionary humans to honor joy in a chaotic world.
