Authors Kyle Lukoff (seated) and Gavin Grimm (on screen) visit a New York City school library.

The Lambda Literary LGBTQ Writers in Schools (WIS) program in New York City is holding strong—even as book bans in schools surge nationwide and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation expands. Now in its ninth year, the LGBTQ WIS program will offer subsidized LGBTQ author visits, free books, and teacher training to 173 schools across New York City between February and June of 2025.

Educators who participate in the program include librarians, teachers, guidance counselors, and club advisors for gender and sexuality alliances. Librarians are involved the most, as the New York City Schools Office of Library Services collaborates in the initiative. Librarians are also a natural choice for hosting author events, so principals often encourage them to apply.

Applications from educators rose by 20 percent for the 2024–25 school year, and this winter and spring, some 10,000 K–12 school children in the NYC DoE will experience these author visits in their libraries or classrooms. Educators apply for the grant by responding to essay questions, and when selected, they choose from approximately 130 books in an LGBTQ WIS roster by LGBTQ authors writing for children, middle grade, YA, and crossover teen/adult audiences.

[Also read: "Disinvited: Amid Censorship, Schools Abruptly Cancel Author Visits"]

The LGBTQ WIS initiative began in 2012 as a volunteer program in Los Angeles, according to national director Monica Carter. With one initial volunteer staff member in LA, Carter was “motivated to share the joy and creativity of LGBTQ+ literature with students.”

The program’s mission hasn’t changed significantly since then and has been largely unaffected by political pressures across the country. It thrived through Obama’s presidency, Trump’s first term, and the Biden years. “Regardless of who is in office, we maintain our commitment to our programming,” says Carter. “It remains of vital importance to continue our mission of validating and affirming LGBTQ+ students through reading and writing, helping educators and students realize the relevance and the importance of LGBTQ+ literature, and creating critical, necessary, safe spaces for students to talk about great books and how to thrive as an LGBTQ+ person.”
 

YA author Abdi Nazemian (back row, making peace sign) with students during a visit

In 2015, the program moved to New York City and began its partnership with the NYC DoE’s Office of School Library Systems and the NYC DoE LGBTQ Inclusive Curriculum program; it is funded by the latter. Carter notes that the program “affirms and validates” LGBTQ students while being relevant to every member of the community. “We also aim to emphasize why LGBTQ+ literature and history are important for all educators and students.”

At a time when school librarians across the country have experienced a rising trend of LGBTQ author visits being abruptly canceled, school librarians participating in the LGBTQ WIS program have not faced pushback, protests, or challenges. Patricia Sarles, the South Brooklyn & Staten Island school library coordinator for the DoE, who helps select participating educators and provides training for running successful author visits, notes that New York City is unlike most other parts of the country. “It feels natural to be doing this work in New York City,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like we’re mavericks. It feels like we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Program officers describe New York City families and school staff as overwhelmingly supportive and enthusiastic. Sarles says the program is popular in all five boroughs except Staten Island, which leans more conservative compared to others. One Staten Island assistant principal removed all books with transgender characters from her school library several years ago. But the administrator reconsidered after learning that many DoE colleagues had positive experiences with the WIS program. Sarles was pleased to see an application from this administrator recently stating a wish to “bring diverse literature to her elementary students.”
 

Illustrator and graphic novelist Yao Xiao (center) with students

While authors have experienced online harassment, Carter says they have visited schools without challenges. Visiting authors participate in a training through the DoE’s Office of Safety and Youth Development so they are prepared to make the best of the opportunity to teach, promote, and discuss queer literature with young people.

The organization also collaborates with publishers, which donate up to 37 free books for each classroom visit and up to 77 books for large events. These donations allow students to get their books personally signed and added to home libraries. When teachers and librarians apply for the grant, they receive a catalog of authors who can visit schools in person or virtually. They can request a first, second, and third choice, and if they aren’t sure who to choose, they can reach out to Lambda for help finding a good fit.

[Also read: "The Impact and Importance of Author Visits in Challenging Times"]

The catalog features authors who write in every genre, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry, early picture books such as My Moms Love Me (Orchard Books, 2022) by Anna Membrino, middle grade titles such as Alex Gino’s Melissa (Scholastic, 2022), and YA and adult crossover choices such as Chinelo Okparanta's Under the Udala Trees (Mariner, 2016).

The program has grown steadily each year since the DoE NYC partnership, and in 2021, it received funding from the New York City Council that allows educators to schedule two author visits, up from one, as well as six-week mini poetry workshops or writing workshops. High school teachers can also nominate a student for a mentorship program and to become a Teen Poet Laureate, who receives mentoring from an author over Zoom for four months.

Sarles’s practical tips and suggested etiquette for running a good author visit include preparing questions in advance, presenting the author with refreshments, and having students make art and written tributes to the visiting writers. Her team also helps teachers and students make the visiting author feel comfortable by going over use of pronouns and strategies for asking authors questions in a way that makes them feel comfortable.
 

Poet and author Matthew Burgess (back left, holding banner) at a school visit

The visits showcase authors from multiple cultures. Mai Tran, WIS program coordinator, notes that author and actor Maulik Pancholy, who is Indian American, connected with a school with a high South Asian population, and they bonded over a specific Bollywood movie. Bronx native Roya Marsh, a poet, was a favorite because it was impactful for students to meet someone from their neighborhood, Tran says.

In many schools, students spend months reading an author’s full book and filling their classrooms with artwork or graphic novels inspired by their work. Jamboard reflections about their work and a whole wall of handwritten thank-you notes also welcome artists. The Ella Baker School in Manhattan adapted the picture book Calvin by JR Ford & Vanessa Ford, illustrated by Kayla Harren (Putnam, 2021) into musical theater.

Sarles hopes that other cities will take note of the positive impact of introducing students to queer authors. Current fundraising at Lambda aims to expand the program to other cities and LGBTQ+ students in “more isolated communities,” Carter says. In New York City, Tran has witnessed many schools adopting gender and sexuality alliances and becoming safer and more welcoming after collaborating with LGBTQ WIS. “We truly believe we are saving lives,” says Carter.

Jess deCourcy Hinds is a librarian at two International Baccalaureate campuses of the Our World Neighborhood Charter School, serving elementary and middle school students in Queens, NY.