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Writer TJ Klune is not afraid to speak truth to power. Whether it's giving J.K. Rowling the criticism she deserves more than fifty times over or unpacking the narratives that have impacted him as a writer, Klune has been a supportive public figure for younger members of the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond. 

While on a panel at the LA Times's Festival of Books, Klune was asked if he had any advice for college students and faculty right now who are afraid to stand up for LGBTQIA+ rights and other social issues, for fear of retaliation from the current presidential administration.

"Stop being afraid," Klune began, clapping between each word for emphasis. "We need to speak up. I can say this from a very privileged position up here because when I speak up, I'm not going to lose my job. I'm not going to get fired for what I do. In fact, my publishers are probably going to be like, 'Hell yeah, keep doing what you're doing.' But I understand that there's a very real thing where people are getting fired. There was a teacher who was just fired in the United States because they used the preferred name of one of the kids in the school, and a parent found out and got the school involved and fired that teacher."

"Protest doesn't always mean that we get to keep what we're doing," Klune continued, "And that we don't have to make sacrifices. Again, I'm saying that from a privileged position. But we have to speak up because the moment that we don't, that's when that apathy sets in. That's when we start thinking, 'Well somebody else can do it. Somebody else can talk, I'm scared.' We can't be scared. I know it's frightening, it really is, but the person who stands up and uses their voice might inspire someone right behind them to do the exact same thing and you'll learn that you're not alone." 

Between book bans affecting stories involving LGBTQIA+ people and BIPOC communities, to the current legislative attempts and movements to restrict transgender people from living their lives, it's been a rough time to be an American. And queer writers like Klune are under greater scrutiny than they ever have been before. But as he said, we can't be afraid. 

Just like yourself, the Popverse staff spends a whole lot of time with our respective noses in respective books. It's why we've come up with stuff like:

• The hottest upcoming fiction
• Queer romance to add to your reading list
• A reading guide to Cassandar Clare's Shadowhunter Chronicles

...and a whole lot more. Join our metaphorical library, won't you? There are no late fees and you can be as loud as you want, so long as the people you live with are OK with it.