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This event is part of Banned Books Week 2026 and presented in partnership with Beyond the Page.Wake Now in the Fire is a fictionalized account of a true event that galvanized a community, based on extensive interviews with the real-life students and teachers who were affected, and written by the librarian who exposed key information about the Chicago Public Schools censorship decision. With illustrations by Alex Award-winner AJ Dungo that perfectly capture the everyday joys, heartbreak, and stresses of high school, this graphic novel is an inspiring portrayal of student activism taking on one of most urgent issues of our time, and a passionate reminder of why protecting the books we love matters.
It starts as an update at one Chicago high school: copies of a certain book are no longer allowed in the classrooms or the library. But it’s not just one high school—it’s all Chicago public schools. Not even the principals know why this is happening; they just know they must comply with the order. One thing is clear: The book, which tells a story of oppression, survival, and resistance against authoritarian power, is seen as a threat, dangerous enough to ban. One other thing is clear: Some of the students aren’t going to let this go without resistance of their own.
As the extent of the ban becomes known, the students rise up. They organize a school-wide walkout and library sit-in. They publicize the banning in every forum they can: social media, the press, classes, clubs, the school paper. And most of all, they get everyone they know to read the book: Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi.
Though the characters and dialogue are fictional, the plot closely follows the events surrounding the Chicago Public School system’s 2013 decision to ban Persepolis. The students’ efforts and success at partially overturning the decision received national and international news coverage and support from Satrapi herself.
In conversation with Jen Milne-Carroll, Library Media Technology Specialist at Madison East High School and Kristin Delorme, Library Media Technology Specialist at Memorial High School.
https://www.wisconsinbookfestival.org/events/wake-now-fire
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201 W Mifflin St, Madison, WI, United States, Wisconsin 53703
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