The Librarians: Documentary Screening and Panel Discussion

Join us for an evening screening of The Librarians (2025). This award-winning feature documentary film is directed by Academy Award nominee Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by Sarah Jessica Parker. The film explores the targeted political polarisation and unprecedented wave of book banning sweeping across public schools and libraries in the United States. We are now seeing this wave of censorship crash through the U.K.

Following the film, we'll be joined by Author Dean Atta, Naomi Evans from Everyday Racism, banned book collector Conor Sansby and Margate Queer Library’s Sé M. Nomyo. Chaired by Lennie Martin, this panel will examine what the documentary's themes mean closer to home - with growing pressures on free expression and access to information in the UK, we will discuss why the fight against censorship has never felt more urgent. Come and join the conversation.

“Librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and our First Amendment Rights.

As they well know, controlling the flow of ideas means control over communities.”

In Texas, the Krause List targets 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories – triggering sweeping book bans across the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. As tensions escalate, librarians connect the dots from heated school and library board meetings nationwide to lay bare the underpinnings of extremism fueling the censorship efforts. Despite facing harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalising their work - the librarians’ rallying cry for freedom to read is a chilling cautionary tale.

SOCIALS:

@lennie.stories

@margatequeerlibrary

@deanatta

@everydayracism_

@naominatashaevans

@connorsansby

@sea_mali

@themargatebookshop

PANELISTS BIOS: 

Dean Atta is a BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and Stonewall Book Award-winning author. Best known for his young adult novel in verse The Black Flamingo and the stop-motion animation Two Black Boys in Paradise, his storytelling draws on his Greek Cypriot and Jamaican heritage and his queer identity. He is a patron of LGBT+ History Month and Chair of the Poetry and Spoken Word Group of the Society of Authors. The Black Flamingo has been directly caught up in the fight the documentary explores. In 2021 it was challenged in Campbell County, Wyoming, over its LGBTQIA+ content. In early 2026 it was among over 130 books removed from a Greater Manchester secondary school in a library "purge" targeting diverse LGBTQ+ and Black voices. Some titles have since been reinstated; the fate of others remains unclear. All of Dean’s children's books will be available to buy at the event.

Naomi Evans is an experienced educator having taught English and Drama in UK state schools for over 20 years. Her career has included senior leadership, Head of Department, and Advanced Skills Teacher roles, and she has made significant contributions to curriculum development and teacher training. Today, Naomi serves as the co-founder and Director of Education for Everyday Racism. Everyday Racism is an award winning platform with over 250k followers. Leveraging her extensive educational background, she crafts accessible and impactful learning opportunities addressing race and identity. Naomi’s expertise in curriculum development and teacher training is pivotal in creating specific anti-racism courses. Committed to building a more equitable society, her leadership and dedication to anti-racism continue to inspire positive change in the field of education. Naomi has co-authored an educational book for young people Everyday Action, Everyday Change. This book will be available to purchase at the event.

Connor Sansby is a Poet, Artist, and Producer. Since 2013, Connor has performed across the South of England, including Margate Soul Festival, Wise Words Festival and London’s Let’s Kill It. He is the winner of the 2024 Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize, and the recipient of an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice Grant. Originally assembled as part of Marine Studios First Friday events, the Banned Books Reading Room is an archive of work which has been banned in the UK. From queer fiction to bomb making guides, the collection looks to do more than titillate. It aims to explore the British relationship to freedom of speech and civil liberties. Connor will kindly make his collection of banned books available for all to browse at the event.

Sé M. Nomyo is a researcher, writer, archivist and multidisciplinary creative with a focus on site specific and place-based work. Over the past 20 years, they have explored place, belonging, and identity through academic research as well as creative practices spanning collage, photography, film, and writing. In June 2025, Sé founded and is a co-director of the Margate Queer Library & Archive, a free DIY space for the LGBTQI+ community aimed at increasing access to queer histories, methods, and theories, especially those shared, materialised, and remembered in Thanet.

Lennie Martin is a producer, educator and activist. Her award winning platform Lennie Stories champions diversity and inclusivity in children’s picture books. She has designed resources and delivered training to educational institutions, community organisations and corporations. Lennie is Assistant Head of Year in a Thanet secondary school. She has hosted family story time for Margate Pride since 2018 and continues to produce book events and deliver workshops for children and families.