UnCensored Ink Interview – Ryan Ginsberg

Hey everyone,

Ian Tan here, lead editor and project coordinator of UnCensored Ink: A Banned Book Inspired Anthology, set to release this October 29. Here is the UnCensored Ink interview series to introduce you all to the incredible writers, as well as the local bookstores and libraries that gave them safe creative spaces. Hopefully you can put these incredible places on your to-visit list, and feel inspired to support your own local bookstore, library and indie authors.

Today I am with Ryan Ginsberg from California. He is a writer of poems, short stories, and novels. His first collection of short stories, “The Crumbling of a Nation and Other Stories,” will be released on June 28th. He is the father of three beautiful dogs—Brother, Midas, and Shadow—and the husband of one beautiful wife, Teresa.

1. You’ve written a fine piece for UnCensored Ink: A Banned Book Inspired Anthology. Can you give us a synopsis? How did the idea for this piece come about?

I have two pieces. The first is Love, the Way God Intended, which explores the idea of strict book banning in schools. Mrs. Estrada sees this happening around her, so she drops her career as a doctor and pursues, instead, a career as a teacher. But she is not doing this to enforce the book ban, but rather to sneak banned literature into the classroom for the students whose lifestyles and identities are being banned and silenced. By doing this, she is not only putting her job on the line, but also her life—as well as her students.

This story was heavily influenced from my experience as a high school English teacher in a very red, very conservative, very small town. I see the way my LGBTQ+ students are treated. I see the way the hate of society seeps into the youth. I fear for those students every day, especially as we see movements to wipe their existence and their right to life away.

My second story is The Termination Bureau, which discusses a topic that is likely to find itself on a banned book list—abortion. It presents a world where abortion has been banned. However, if a person does not want to keep their baby, they are able to sell that baby to the state. Without giving too much away, the story follows two plotlines—one is of a worker in the Termination Bureau, the second is of a young girl who is applying for the right to sell her baby to the state.

This story came from the hypocrisy constantly seen by the so-called pro-life movement. They hate abortions, but refuse to do anything to prevent them. And once that prized fetus is born, they deny it all rights. They want to deny a person’s right to healthcare, to a livable wage, to a safe place to live, to access to equal opportunities. This story hopes to highlight exactly how much life is disregarded after it leaves the womb.

2. Now, we would love to know you more! What do you enjoy doing in your free time, what is your favorite book quote, and how did you get into reading and writing?

Honestly, my free time is mostly spent on the couch, with my wife and three dogs by my side, watching whatever the reality TV show we are binging at the moment is—Love Island, Summer House, Big Brother, whatever! My favorite book quote has to be ‘So it goes.’ As for what got me into reading and writing, it is hard to say. I do love to contribute my love for writing with my childhood speech impediment. For when I write, everything comes out exactly as I want—and if not, I can edit the misunderstandings away.

3. Do you have a favorite local library or bookstore? Also can you remember bookstores and libraries from your childhood, if they are not the same as the ones now?

My favorite bookstore as a child was Borders. They had everything. Books, CDs, cinnamon rolls! It was the dream. Now, my go-to bookstore is called A Book Barn, located in Clovis, California. As Kerouac once said, ‘Saroyan’s Town.’

4. Tell us more about this bookstore/library. What do you love most about it?

It is an independently owned used bookstore. Two stories. FILLED with everything imaginable. They even have a rare book section. But most of all, I love the people, the workers, the owner. They have always treated me with kindness. And recently, they hosted my first ever book signing for my latest book The Crumbling of a Nation and Other Stories.

5. What do you have to say on the importance of sustaining bookstores and libraries?

Gil Scott-Heron once wrote, ‘The Revolution will not be televised.’ I think that quote needs to be slightly altered to something like: the revolution will not be televised, but it will have been written about for generations in books that the world slowly decided to stop reading. We need to sustain bookstores and libraries because our society crumbles once we lose our curiosity.

6. Do you have any projects that your current and future readers can look forward to?

I have been working on a novel since 2018 or 2019. A dystopian novel set in the near future. Hopefully, eventually, that novel will be published. Otherwise, I did recently self-publish a collection of short stories—The Crumbling of a Nation and Other Stories.

7. Lastly, what platforms can we find you? (Social media and websites are all encouraged, this is to highlight and champion you guys)

I am mostly on TikTok these days, until it is banned, I guess. Username is @ryandavidginsberg. I am also on Instagram, same username, but hardly post. I have a website ryandavidginsberg.com that rarely gets updated.