Outrage as NZ bans acclaimed teen novel
Print Edition
New Zealand censors sparked outrage yesterday after banning an award-winning teen novel that includes sex and bullying, making it the first book removed from shelves in more than two decades.
Auckland author Ted Dawe said he was “blindsided” by the ban on his coming-of-age story “Into the River,” which won the New Zealand Post children’s book of the year in 2013.
“It’s extraordinary,” Dawe told the New Zealand Herald. “I’ve had quite a few emails from people who share that sense of outrage. Do we live in a country where books get banned? I’ll get burnt next.”
It tells the story of a Maori boy who wins a scholarship to an exclusive Auckland boarding school but struggles with racism and drugs.
After numerous battles with censors, selling it can now attract fines of up to 3,000 New Zealand dollars (US$1,900) for individuals and NZ$10,000 for firms.
The Film and Literature Board of Review said the ban was temporary and would be in place until the organization reviews the decision next month. A spokesman confirmed that no book had been subject to such a ban since current legislation was introduced in 1993.
The board took action after submissions from conservative lobby group Family First New Zealand, which said it objected to detailed descriptions of “sex acts, coarse language and drug-taking.”
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