Judy Blume is the first author to win the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award for ‘Bravery in Literature’. Her young adult fiction champions taboo topics for teens and has faced a long battle against book censorship.
In recent years, pressure has been put on schools and libraries to ban lists of “controversial” books. This is happening across America, the UK and other parts of the world.
Judy Blume is no stranger to the threat of censorship.
Best known for her young adult fiction novels Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, she is notably candid in her work. The author never shies-away from sensitive subject matter such as periods and puberty; sex and contraception; death and grief. All very common teenage experiences that the world is still hush-hush about.
The tenacious author stood firm against similar bans in the 80s, stating that lawmakers are “fearful” and “want to control what our kids know, what our kids think, what our kids can question.”
With all of this in mind The Eleanor Roosevelt Center and the Fisher Center at Bard College announced that Judy Blume would be receiving the first-ever ‘Bravery in Literature’ award.
Judy Blume Novels Are Still Popular 50 Years On
A collection of ever-relevant Judy Blume stories from Book Trust
Blume is now 85-years-old with more than 25 books to her name. This includes works of young adult fiction and children’s stories, four adult novels, a couple of collaborative short stories, plus a number of activity workbooks.
The author was so popular among young people that she even published a compilation of letters sent to her by fans entitled Letters to Judy: What Kids Wish They Could Tell You (1986). And with various film and television adaptations in-the-works, there’s really no stopping Judy Blume’s influence.
She may have started writing in 1959, but just last year Judy Blume was named one of the TIME 100 most influential people 2023 by Time magazine. You can even watch a documentary about the author’s life and work Judy Blume Forever now on Prime Video.
Proof of her lasting impact on generations past, present and still to come.
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Hannah McLaren I've worked at DC Thomson for six years! I began as an intern at My Weekly and The Scots Magazine, which was extended by a few months to help out at The People's Friend. I then covered maternity as Celebrity Editor for My Weekly, before I became Multimedia Journalist at The Scots Magazine. Currently I'm writing digital content across each title.
