Macmillan Publishers CEO Jon Yaged was presented with the PEN America 2025 Business Visionary Award by actor Taye Diggs, the author of five children’s picture books, some of which have been banned, he said, for being “too multicultural.”
Thanks Taye. I’m honored to receive this recognition, and even more so to have it presented by someone I admire and have the privilege of knowing for almost 15 years. One of the first things that comes to mind when I think about Taye is the way he connects with people. It’s a true pleasure to watch how people respond to him. Be it a 1,000 person event at a book show or an intimate dinner with a librarian, Taye has an incredible ability to make everyone around him feel comfortable. He is always authentic, accessible, down to earth, fun, and funny. In short, while he is an award-winning, critically acclaimed movie star, television star, broadway star, producer, and author, he’s also a regular guy, a dad. All of that shows through and resonates with people. We’ve published five books with Taye. As he mentioned, at least three of them have been banned in multiple places across the country. Taye’s books are about friendship, family, love, and being proud of yourself and your heritage. Like Taye, I have no idea how anyone could want to ban those sentiments and that’s why we are here tonight: to continue to fight for the freedom to read and the true meaning of free expression.
Today the concepts of censorship and free expression have been co-opted by people that want anything but the free exchange of ideas and the freedom to read. Their message is clear and overt — do what we want or else. Or else we will boycott you, delete your post, encourage others to dox you, or worse — instigate physical violence against you and threaten you with incarceration. Their message is do what we want or we will take your funding away, threaten your livelihood, tax your endowment, close your library or investigate you for nameless crimes. All of this has a chilling effect and encourages self-censorship. People don’t know what they can do, so they stop saying or doing anything. Stop out of fear of criminal prosecution or financial ruin. To be clear, these oppressors have no qualms about restricting any opposing viewpoints. Over the past several months we have seen newspapers restrict what can appear in their opinion sections. Social media outlets stop fact checking. They tout free speech yet delete posts and try to silence those who hold opinions that are contrary to their purpose: gaining more influence over our lives and enriching themselves at our expense. The US government has called book banning a hoax while simultaneously removing hundreds of books from Military Academies and DOD schools. Our government has even banned the use of words, utterly unthinkable throughout my lifetime, and is initiating legal proceedings against people who don’t step in line. States are now emboldened by this and are passing laws, in some cases with criminal penalties, for people who make certain, vaguely described, types of books available. All of this limits conversation and the free exchange of ideas. It stigmatizes reading at a time when we need, more than ever, to encourage kids to read. It impedes critical and analytical thinking. It makes us a less effective democracy. Simply put, this makes us weaker, puts us on a path to mediocrity as a people and decline as a nation.
I’m a book publisher. We bring information, insight, knowledge and entertainment to readers. At Macmillan one of our values is Impact. We believe in the power of books to connect people, foster innovation, amplify diverse voices, and contribute to the global conversation. To do this we publish a wide variety of books. Not just the ones we agree with. Not just the ones politicians or business leaders want us to publish. We know we are better off, and the world is better off, with a multitude of perspectives. This has long been part of who we are at Macmillan. I’m the second Macmillan CEO to receive this honor. I’m viewing tonight as a recognition of that history and the commitment the entire Macmillan team has to defending the right to read. It’s also reflective of our ownership. Our shareholders wholeheartedly support our approach to publishing and our efforts to end book banning. Thank you Stefan and Christiane.
I also want to thank everyone at Macmillan. I adore our company and truly appreciate all you do to make Macmillan the place to be. My family is incredibly important to me and I feel so fortunate to have my mom and dad, my sister, my sister-in-law, my partner Catherine and our daughter Oonagh with me tonight. My parents taught me the value of being a free and critical thinker. I am so grateful for that and so happy to be able to share that with Oonagh. I’d also like to thank Summer and Clarisse. It has been great getting to know you and the PEN America team during the planning of this event. I want to congratulate Sarah Jessica, Michael, and Galal. It is truly special to be sharing this evening with you. Finally, thanks to everyone here for supporting PEN America and its work.
While these times are incredibly trying, I’m encouraged by the fact that humanity has overcome moments like this in the past. History shows us that. It might not be easy and often comes with some pain, but as long as we continue to resist, as long as groups like PEN America continue to speak the truth and highlight hypocrisy when it appears, free expression endures.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.
