Banned Books Week day three: not one, but two, bookmobiles get the day started, and you can wrap up the day with an amazing virtual program hosted by City Lights Bookstore! Keep reading for a look at today’s events.

TOMORROW: Don’t miss Banned Books Week Honorary Chair LeVar Burton, live on Instagram at 8:00 p.m. EDT! And our Yourh Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels will lead a conversation with other youth advocates on Thursday, October 5, at 8:00 p.m. EDT.

Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week events calendar for a full list of what’s happening today and throughout the week!

Banned Books Week Coalition Events

The New Republic: THE BANNED BOOKS TOUR 2023

2:00 – 5:00 p.m. EDT • King PreK – 8, 50 Montgomery Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

The New Republic is launching a bold new initiative to combat censorship and celebrate the First Amendment to coincide with Banned Books Week October 1–7, 2023. This fall, we are taking it on the road, sending a bookmobile to distribute books in states that have witnessed the highest incidents of banned books, including Texas, Florida, Missouri, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

We will launch our journey at the Brooklyn Book Festival on October 1 where we will accept book (and financial) donations with special help from our partners at House of SpeakEasy via the SpeakEasy Bookmobile.

Our “festival on wheels” will connect with communities, authors, bookstores, libraries, and local leaders to celebrate the freedom to read.

Oct 3—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

2 p.m.– 5 p.m. // King PreK – 8, 50 Montgomery Pl, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

The Banned Wagon Tour: Nashville

3:00 – 6:00 p.m. EDT • The Bookshop 1043 W Eastland Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee

Book bans are on the rise in America, driven by new laws and regulations limiting the kinds of books that kids can access.

This month, we’re hitting the road with the Freedom to Read Foundation, Pen America, and Little Free Library to hand out copies of banned books in some of the most affected communities.

Explore this this site to see whether the Banned Wagon is coming to a city near you, learn about the books we’ll be handing out, and explore more resources to fight book bans!

18th Annual BOOKS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

4:00 p.m. CDT • Edgewater Branch, Chicago Public Library, 6000 N. Broadway St., Chicago, IL 

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Books on the Chopping Block is our annual 60-minute performance of dramatic readings of short excerpts taken from these books. City Lit has teamed up with the ALA in celebration of Banned Books Week since 2006, performing at special events, libraries and bookstores in and around Chicago…and virtually this year.​

City Lit Artistic Director Terry McCabe believes that concert readings of excerpts from challenged books actively celebrate the books most at risk, calling attention to the would-be censor’s threat to an educated democracy. “Our focus is literate theatre, so we are naturally concerned by attempts to keep books away from people,” McCabe says. “We are privileged to continue our alliance with the ALA in this important work.”

FROM HOWL TO NOW: BOOK BANS IN THE U.S.

6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PDT • Virtual Event

During Banned Books Week, City Lights and PEN America bring together authors, librarians, and student activists to discuss the alarming rise in book bans across the country. They share insights, observations, and methods to counter the suppression of books that address issues pertaining to race, gender, and sexuality. Ever timely, their conversation is a powerful call to action to stand up for the freedom to read.

Panelists:

• Ipek S. Burnett, PhD
• Becky Calzada 
• Leela Hensler 
• Summer Lopez
• Nic Stone

Register: https://citylights.com/events/from-howl-to-now-book-bans-in-the-u-s-2/

Ongoing Events

Share a Banned Book in a Little Free Library!

Our mission at Little Free Library is to expand access to books – including banned books – and we invite you to join us! Sharing banned and challenged books in your local Little Free Libraries is a meaningful way to get books into readers’ hands, show your support for reading freedom, and do something positive in your community. Here’s how:

1) Share a banned book in a Little Free Library. Find Little Free Libraries near you using our free mobile app (littlefreelibrary.org/app/).

2) Snap a photo and post it on social media with #bannedbooksweek. Don’t forget to tag Little Free Library so we’re sure to see your photos!

3) Bonus: Little Free Library stewards can enter to win our Banned Books Week giveaway with HarperCollins Children’s Books, which will be open for entry during the month of October (littlefreelibrary.org/books/).

People For’s Banned Books Reading Challenge

In this challenge, every book you read (to a grandchild or on your own) gives you one “point,” and points can be traded in for free Grandparents For Truth swag! Supplies are limited so make sure to read early and often!

How You Can Join the Challenge

1. Sign up for the challenge here.
2. Pick a banned book off of our banned book reading list
3. Submit a photo or video of you (or you and a grandkid!) reading the banned book. If you post it to social, make sure you tag us (we’re @peoplefor on Twitter/X and Facebook and @peoplefor_ on Instagram)and use the hashtag #bannedbooks2023
4. Each photo or video you submit or tag us in is worth one point! Rack up points to get free Grandparents for Truth swag like tshirts, book marks, water bottles, and more!
5. Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.

Supplies are limited – so read early and often!