‘The banning was heartbreaking because it completely misrepresents what I’m trying to achieve in the books’. It’s a refreshingly simple ethic: “They recognise that people should be who they are and be free to live their lives and love who they love.” He contrasts the maturity with which today’s teenagers discuss gender and sexuality with his own coming-of-age in a rural town in Lincolnshire “where ‘gay’ wasn’t even used as a slur – I grew up in total ignorance of LGBT+ people, partly because of section 28. “They are passionate about building a world that is better, and they’re not going to stop,” he says. Barney’s activist passion is a thoroughly accurate reflection of the young people Green meets on a weekly basis, he explains.
Less widely reported were the cards and letters Green received from young people across the country who wanted to support the students who had been denied their opportunity to talk about his books. The cancellation of Green’s school event in March by the Catholic archdiocese of Southwark prompted a wave of outrage from authors, parents and teaching unions, as well as warnings about a growing censorship of writing about diversity for younger readers.
