In December of 2022, actor Kirk Cameron published his first children's book covering the fruits of the Spirit. After seeing local libraries host multiple Drag Queen story hours across the country, he and the team at Brave Publishing reached out to host a story hour of their own. After being turned down by over 50 libraries, they decided to go public with their concern about the fact that these public libraries had welcomed and encouraged Drag Queen story hours, but denied a story hour for a book on the topic of love, joy, and gentleness. The public was in outcry at the news and Kirk was able to schedule a Brave story hour in Indianapolis IN in late December. Over 2,000 people showed up to support Kirk and his book, and since then he has done two more public story hours in NY and CA, with more on the way.

Read the letters below!

Open Letter to Dr. Gabriel Morley, CEO of The Indianapolis Public Library  

RE: BRAVE Books Story Hour with Kirk Cameron

Dr. Morley,

Enclosed is my latest children’s book, As You Grow, published by Brave Books, LLC. In it, the reader follows the growth of a massive tree through its many seasons of life, from sapling to fully matured. While it grows, we learn positive character traits we all desire for our children, such as love, joy, and gentleness. The book is yours to keep and we hope you will stock it on your shelves so your patrons can enjoy it for years to come.

So many of our communities, perhaps like yours, are facing rates of crime, abortion, and murder well above the national average. I believe the children in your community would benefit from hearing a message teaching Biblical wisdom as I explain in my new book.

One of the aspects that has always made this country great is the free expression of ideas essential to an informed citizenry. That is why I was surprised to learn from my publisher that you were not interested in having me join your patrons for a reading of my new book.

I hope you will revisit that request. As I understand from my publisher, your strategic plan for author visits includes a push for “authors who are diverse.” By that, we were told, you mean to limit your diversity purely to “authors of color.” You may understand why it surprised me to learn that the Indianapolis Public Library—committed to inclusivity as it appears to be—elected to exclude me based upon my skin color and the religious beliefs espoused in my new book.

Concurrent with the sending of this letter, my publisher has completed an application for use of the Indianapolis Special Collections Room on December 29th, 2022 at 10 AM. I know that rooms like the Special Collections Room are made available to the community in order to “provide access to ideas representing all points of view on all subjects.” We will of course forward the appropriate rental fee and furnish any further information you may require as you require it.

I hope our mutual commitment to the sharing of knowledge and the free expression of ideas will afford me the opportunity to sit down and talk about my book with your patrons, bringing entertainment and comfort along with a profitable discussion that will be a blessing to everyone who attends. You may coordinate our “BRAVE Books Story Hour with Kirk Cameron,” along with any promotional items you may need, directly with my publication team at Brave Books. Zach Bell, Chief of Staff at Brave Books may be reached at press@brave.us at your convenience.

I look forward to seeing you in Indianapolis on Dec. 29th.

Sincerely,
Kirk Cameron

Open Letter to Ms. Elizabeth Bermel, Director of the Scarsdale Public Library

RE: BRAVE Books Story Hour with Kirk Cameron

Ms. Bermel,

Enclosed is my latest children’s book, As You Grow, published by Brave Books, LLC. In it, the reader follows the growth of a massive tree through its many seasons of life, from sapling to fully matured. While it grows, we learn positive character traits we all desire for our children, such as love, joy, and gentleness. The book is yours to keep and we hope you will stock it on your shelves so your patrons can enjoy it for years to come.

So many of our communities, perhaps like yours, are facing rates of crime, abortion, and murder well above the national average. I believe the children in your community would benefit from hearing a message teaching Biblical wisdom as I explain in my new book.

One of the aspects that has always made this country great is the sharing of knowledge and ideas. That is why I was surprised to learn from my publisher that you were not interested in having me join your patrons for a reading of my new book. I hope you will revisit that request.

Please accept this letter as my formal request to use the Scott Room of Scarsdale Public Library on December 30th at 3 PM. I know that rooms like the Scott Room are made available to the community “equitably regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of those who seek to use them.” If there is an official application to be used, please let my publisher know; we will be happy to complete it and forward the standard rental rate for the use of the Scott Room.

I hope our mutual commitment to the sharing of knowledge and ideas will afford me the opportunity to sit down and talk about my book with your patrons, bringing entertainment and comfort along with a profitable discussion that will be a blessing to everyone who attends.

You may coordinate our, “BRAVE Books Story Hour with Kirk Cameron,” along with any promotional items you may need, directly with my publication team at Brave Books. Zach Bell, Chief of Staff at Brave Books may be reached at press@brave.us at your convenience.

I look forward to seeing you in Scarsdale on Dec. 30th.

Sincerely,
Kirk Cameron