Join PEN America and Orange County Public Library for a special, after hours screening of Kim A. Snyder’s documentary film The Librarians, which follows librarians as they combat book banning and defend intellectual freedom in this period of unprecedented censorship.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with producer Janique Robillard; PEN Piedmont Chapter Leader Deonna Kelli Sayed; writer, educator, and ordained minister Ashley Lumpkin; and librarian Tracy Fitzmaurice. The discussion will be moderated by Steve Mahaley.
The run time for this film is 93 minutes.
Panelists
Janique L Robillard is an Oscar-nominated documentary producer and independent filmmaker. Recent credits include producing two films with Peabody Award-winning Director Kim A. Snyder – Death By Numbers, nominated for the 2025 Academy Awards: Best Documentary Short Film, and The Librarians (PBS/Independent Lens). The Librarians has garnered numerous Jury and Audience Awards at festivals after its 2025 Sundance world premiere. It releases theatrically in Fall 2025. Previous credits include Impact Producer on Us Kids (dir. Snyder), Associate & Field Producer The Fix docu-series (dir. Jeremiah Zagar), and Development Producer on numerous series and feature films, including Periodical (dir. Lina Plioplyte) and for clients including Netflix. She’s committed to storytelling that elevates marginalized voices and creates meaningful impact for the communities who collaborate in the filmmaking process.
Deonna Kelli Sayed is a writer-performer based in Greensboro, North Carolina. She is a globally-connected storyteller engaged in interfaith work modeled on dialogue across difference. She represents the PEN Piedmont chapter and works for NCCJ (North Carolina for Community and Justice).
Ashley Lumpkin is a Georgia-raised, Carolina-based writer, editor, performance artist, and educator. She is the author of five poetry collections: {} At First Sight, Second Glance, Terrorism and Other Topics for Tea, #AshleyLumpkin, and Genesis. Her book “I Hate You All Equally” is a collection of conversations from her years as a classroom teacher. Her work has appeared in Kinfolks Quarterly, Our Rhythm, Our Blues, and A host of other journals; she has also been featured on Button Poetry and Write About Now. A lover of poetry slam as well as the written word, she has been a competing member of the Bull City Slam Team since 2015 and currently serves as its coach.
Steve Mahaley is a career educator and technologist, born and raised in North Carolina. Before retiring, he developed virtual reality immersions focused on the experience of marginalized people – his first work titled Through My Eyes, the first of its kind immersion focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and later topics such as immigrants interacting with law enforcement, Black women receiving health care, and people experiencing homelessness.
Tracy Fitzmaurice is the director of the Fontana Regional Library (FRL) system which serves Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties in Western North Carolina. She has worked for FRL for 34 years and received her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.