The League of Women Voters of Stanislaus County Book Club

League of Women Voters Book Club Welcomes Author,
Lecturer to Discuss Book Censorship and First Amendment Rights

Author Kirsten Miller and Stan State Professor Shannon Stevens
will be guests at the May 6 League Book Club Event

The program will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at the Nick Blom Salida Regional Library.

**The program is free and open to the public.**

March 18, 2026 – The League of Women Voters – Stanislas County (LWVSC) is
delighted to welcome noted author Kirsten Miller as its guest for the May 6 meeting of
the League Book Club series.

Ms. Miller, who says of herself, “I like causing (good) trouble, and I love poking bears,”
will join the meeting via video conference. The springboard for the discussion will be
Miller’s book, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books (2025). In the novel,
unbeknownst to Lula Dean, self-appointed arbiter of morals, the books she wants banned
from the public library show up in her own Little Free Library, setting off a cascade of
consequences among townspeople. Publishers Weekly called the book “[An] incisive
comedy . . . A clever send-up of book banners’ misplaced fears.”

Miller, a North Carolina native currently living in New York, is also the author of over a
dozen middle grade and YA novels, including the acclaimed Kiki Strike books, (which
tell the tale of the delinquent girl geniuses who keep Manhattan safe), and “How to Lead
a Life of Crime.” Her first adult novel, “The Change”, was a Good Morning America
Book Club pick for May 2022.

Despite its comedic aspects, “Lula Dean” lends itself to serious discussion of our rights
as Americans in a free society. LWVSC President Amy Wolfe said, “Free speech is a
core tenet of American Democracy. These days, we face heretofore unseen pressures and
challenges to some of our most sacred rights. The book club format gives us the
opportunity to expand our understanding of our 250-year-old experiment called
Democracy through reading and discussing books.”

Dr. Shannon Stevens of Stanislaus State will moderation the book discussion. Stevens is
a professor of Journalism in the English Department and co-creator/co-director of
Creative Media. In that role she serves as the adviser for csusignal.com, the student news
on campus, and teaches a number of related courses including Freedom of Speech and
Press and Digital Media Storytelling. In addition, County Librarian Sarah Dentan will
review the Library’s policy that addresses book challenges.

While the program is free, participants are asked to register to attend at
https://bit.ly/4bi9jGw . The Nick Blom Salida Regional Library is located at 4835 Sisk
Road, Salida. For more information, call (209) 840-8825.