Banned Books Week has found a new home: Sweden! The Swedish celebration of the right to read takes place on October 9–15, 2023. Banned Books Week Sweden will highlight literature that is or has been banned in different parts the world.
The week is coordinated by Swedish PEN in partnership with the Dawit Isaak-library in Malmö and is done in proud collaboration with libraries, bookshops, schools, and organizations from all over the country. Banned Books Week Sweden has the commitment of more than 200 participating organizations, with additional requests to join coming in every hour.
Even if the situation in Sweden differs from the surge in book bans that has occurred in the United States, Sweden is experiencing an escalating level of hate speech and threats directed at those who write, and the public discourse is becoming more polarized. This week, DIK — the union for people who work within culture, communications, and the creative sector — released a report stating that 28% of librarians have experienced pressure during the last two years from members of the public or politicians to influence what books are available in the library or what activities are carried out[1] .
But the raison d’être for Banned Books Week Sweden is also found in international connectedness. If books are being banned in other parts of the world, it affects us all. When information is restricted, people are left with a more dangerous and polarized world where antidemocratic forces can gain ground.
And as the charter of PEN states: “Literature knows no frontiers.” International solidarity and collaboration have been a core value of PEN’s work for more than 100 years. With Banned Books Week Sweden, we are proud to find new methods to celebrate this legacy in a way that encourages more people to get involved in discussing and working against the threats against freedom of expression. For the Dawit Isaak Library – which collect and make available banned and censured books to the public all year round – this campaign raises awareness of banned books and the library’s mission.
Please check out the hashtag #bannedbooksweeksverige to find out more about what is happening in classrooms, book shops and libraries this week.
With book bans on the rise, it is absolutely essential that people do something — anything — to defend books from censorship in their communities. This final day of Banned Books Week is Let Freedom Read Day — do at least one thing today to fight censorship! Keep reading for day of action ideas and more Banned Books Week programs!
Spotlight: Let Freedom Read Day
The freedom to read is under attack — let’s do something about it! Whether you have 5 minutes or an hour or more, there’s plenty you can do to fight. Visit the Let Freedom Read Day page for ideas, a downloadable one-sheet, and social media assets that you can use to let the world know you took action today!
Show us how you’re taking action on social media by using the hashtags #LetFreedomReadDay and #BannedBooksWeek!
And don’t forget: Censorship won’t stop just because Banned Books Week does — you can take action any day of the year!
John H. Dickerson Community Center, 308 Dr. MLK Jr. Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL • 10:00 am – 2:00 pm EDT
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.
BookPeople 603 N Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX, United States • 10:30 am – 2:00 pm CDT
In partnership with Book People, The Child Defense Fund of Texas, and the Austin Public Library, PEN America Austin will celebrate Banned Book Month 2023 on October 7 at Book People by demonstrating the magical power of reading. With legislature like Texas House Bill 900 threatening students’ access to books, PEN Austin is inviting local writers, readers, and free expression advocates to honor the magic of their unique stories.
This day of celebration for the magical power of reading will have two sections that will allow Austin residents to reflect on how integral books are to our identity and our ability to express ourselves. Staff from the CDF and APL will be on hand to supply writers, readers, and free expression advocates of all ages with the materials and knowledge to produce their own zine and bookmarks via a production workshop. Magician Nicole Cardoza will demonstrate the transformative power of words with a magic show. Lastly, the PEN America Freedom to Read team will present research findings about the book ban crisis and its effects on Texas students, schools, libraries, and booksellers. PEN America will be joined by local coalition leaders who are pushing back against book bans in defense of the freedom to read. Leaders like Carolyn Foote of FReadom Fighters will talk about ways to get involved locally in your own schools and communities.
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!
River Forest Public Library, 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest, IL • 2:00 p.m. CDT
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.
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/).
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!
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
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!
Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.
It may be the penultimate day of Banned Books Week, but there’s still plenty to do! Today’s edition of City Lit Theater’s Books on the Chopping Block is also available virtually! If you’re in New York City, brush up on your banned books trivia. Keep reading for more info.
Are you ready to take action to fight book bans?! Tomorrow is Let Freedom Read Day! We’re asking everyone everyone to do at least one thing to help fight book bans! Get ideas and resources here. (Protip: Bookmark the page so you can take action any day of the year!)
In-Person & Virtual • DePaul University Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL • 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CDT
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.”
Friday, October 6, 2023 at 1:00PM – DePaul University Library, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL *This performance is also available to view remotely. Register free here.
66 Greenpoint Bar 66 Greenpoint Ave, Brooklyn, NY, United States • 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm EDT
Join your fellow book hoes for a night in celebration of Banned Books during Banned Book Week. The Woodhull Foundation in collaboration with NYC Book Club for Book Hoes will be hosting a panel discussion on banned books followed by a banned books trivia.
All attendees will receive a free copy of a banned book provided by Penguin Random House.
The night will begin with our panel of three speakers moderated by Mandy Salley, the Chief Operating Officer at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Trivia will be run by Zoë Mahler, creator of NYC Book Club for Book Hoes.
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/).
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!
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
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!
Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.
It’s Thursday, and Banned Books Week is running strong with student advocates! Hot off his livestream with Honorary Chair LeVar Burton, Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels will take the spotlight today with a program featuring student leaders from around the country!
Also in the mix today: The Banned Wagon hits the Big Easy, the online debut of Ibram X. Kendi’s moving Rally for the Right to Read speech, Carmen Maria Machado on banned books, Reading with Love, children’s book authors on fighting censorship, and more!
Are you ready to take action to fight book bans?! Saturday is Let Freedom Read Day, and we’re asking everyone everyone to do at least one thing to help fight book bans! Get ideas and resources here. (Protip: Bookmark the page so you can take action any day of the year!)
Some of the strongest voices in the fight against book bans are the students that censors claim they are protecting. Join Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels for an inspiring roundtable discussion about youth advocacy in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, and how that work can inform opposition to censorship around the country. Join us on Facebook (@BannedBooksWeek) or register here.
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!
Join Penguin Random House, Booklist, and Unite Against Book Bans for a special Banned Books Week event as we premiere the video of Ibram X. Kendi’s motivating and moving speech from Rally for the Right to Read at the 2023 ALA Annual Conference. Introduced by Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association, in conversation with Chris Jackson, EVP, Publisher, & Editor-in-Chief of One World—this hour-long webinar will celebrate the right to read and librarians’ role in providing access for all. Representatives from Unite Against Book Bans will also join the webinar to share resources and offer a myriad of ways that viewers can join in the fight for the freedom to read.
Ten lucky LIVE webinar attendees will win a full set of Ibram X. Kendi’s books for their library. Register now!
Utah Museum of Fine Arts 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City, UT • 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. MDT
Join PEN Utah on October 5th as Carmen Maria Machado joins the Tanner Humanities Center for a Banned Books Week conversation about her work and being an LGBTQIA+ author. She will be joined by Jeremy Rosen, Associate Director for Faculty at the Tanner Humanities Center and Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Utah.
Book signing to follow. Books will be available to purchase from Under the Umbrella Bookstore.
As anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeps the nation, our schools, libraries, and other story-telling spaces are being attacked on the basis of “protecting the children.” Countless books have been banned as a result, attempting to block—and thereby, extinguish—any mention of LGBTQ+ experiences and identities.
But these books go beyond LGBTQ+ narratives—they’re glowing messages of love and role models for living life as your best, most authentic self.
In what world should these messages be censored?
On October 5, from 6-7 pm ET, we’re sharing these messages of love through the voices of our most vivacious, glamorous, and fearless community members: drag artists. Bringing these stories to life are local drag talent Coco Sho-Nell, Emi Grate, Mister Max, and Nancy Nogood, whose authenticity in themselves mirrors the authenticity in these stories.
The Reading with Love Live broadcast is a family-friendly read aloud geared towards children ages 5-8, with topics including the gender binary, trans children, parents of the same gender, and the history of the Gay Pride flag.
Let’s come together and help our kids see a bright and loving future.
The American Library Association (ALA) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) have joined forces to inform and educate the public about the challenges with book banning in the United States. The special edition SCBWI digital workshop, entitled “Free People Read Freely: How Children’s Book Creatives Can Fight Book Banning” will take place on Thursday, October 5, at 4 pm PT / 7 pm ET on Zoom. Click here to register. This digital workshop is free and open to the public.
SCBWI will host speaker Joyce McIntosh, Assistant Program Director for the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), an organization dedicated to First Amendment education, litigation, and advocacy. McIntosh will discuss ways creators of books for children, teens, and young adults can address the current surge in challenges to books for young people.
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/).
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!
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
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!
Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.
Today is the day! Our Honorary Chair LeVar Burton will join us live on Facebook for a conversation with our Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels. Don’t miss this knowledge! You can also catch programs with John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), Mike Curato (Flamer), Brad Meltzer (I Am Rosa Parks), and more. Keep reading for details…
TOMORROW: Don’t miss our A Seat at the Table, a conversation with youth advocates lead by Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels! The event starts at 8:00 p.m. EDT. You can register here.
Actor, director, literacy advocate—and Banned Books Week 2023 Honorary Chair—LeVar Burton will discuss his anti-censorship work with Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels during this rare live event, which will stream on Facebook.
Follow @BannedBooksWeek, and join us October 4, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. EDT / 7:00 p.m. CDT / 6:00 p.m. MDT / 5:00 p.m. PDT.
This year IFLA’s Management of Library Associations (MLAS), in collaboration with the Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression Advisory Committee (FAIFE), will be organizing a webinar to discuss access to information under siege across the world, as well as best practices and strategies from library associations and librarians.
As in previous years, this October 1-7 of 2023, we commemorate “Banned Books Week,” an initiative from the American Library Association that seeks to bring together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.
Librarians across the world are facing unprecedented situations related to the defense of access to information and intellectual freedom. Library leaders from different regions will be taking a look at the current global situation, discussing how to manage crises, and how to build support networks for libraries and librarians. As part of the event, resources developed by library associations will be shared on the event’s page.
The last few years have seen an unparalleled attack on the right to read and organized campaigns against certain types of literature and programming in public and school libraries. No one person or organization can face this fight alone, and we all need to take direct action to combat censorship. Join author John Green (Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars), writer and illustrator Mike Curato (Flamer), librarian and Texas FReadom Fighters co-founder Becky Calzada, and Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels for a conversation about the impact of book bans and the ways in which they have taken action to fight censorship. The program will close with a short Q&A. Sign up here.
2023 has seen a steep rise in book bans and censorship in classrooms and school libraries across the United States.
Queens Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and the New York Public Library are dedicated to free and open access to information and knowledge—a mission that is directly opposed to censorship.
On Wednesday, October 4, during Banned Books Week, New York City’s libraries invite you to join us on social media in support of the freedom to read!
Books can build bridges, introduce us to new perspectives, and show us we are not alone.
Join us on October 4 to celebrate the power of books, reading, and public libraries—and stand for the #FreedomToRead!
MLK Library, 901 G St NW, Washington DC • 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT
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.
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @newrepublic #TNRBookmobile #TNRStandsWithTheBanned and Eventbrite.
London – Hatchards – Piccadilly 187 Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom • 8:00 p.m. BST
Join Malu Halasa and Ramita Navai here at Hatchards this evening for an event chaired by Index on Censorship editor-in-chief Jemimah Steinfeld to celebrate the launch of the book “Woman Life Freedom”.
The murder of Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022 by Iran’s morality police sent shockwaves throughout the country. Protests led by women spread to ninety cities in all of Iran’s provinces. Videos on social media showed women in the streets with their hair uncovered, burning headscarves and even cutting their own long hair. Men soon joined the protests. Schoolgirls defaced portraits of religious leaders. Cries of Zan Zendegi Azadi in Farsi – Woman Life Freedom – echoed in mass demonstrations, which continue today. Woman Life Freedom captures this historic moment in artwork and first-person accounts by courageous women, including those too scared to reveal their true identities because of a repressive and vindictive regime. Featuring art, music and photography from the protests, this moving and inspiring anthology exposes hardship, hope and empowerment in modern-day Iran.
As part of the launch of Woman Life Freedom, marking Banned Books Week, this event will discuss the Iran protests over the last year and will ask what has happened. With reports of the morality police back on the streets and protesters locked away, some even executed, what positive change has occurred, if any? The event will also launch Index’s Autumn Magazine, which covers the rise of the religious right, religious blasphemy and its impact on freedom of expression, with a focus on Iran amongst other countries.
Books & Books 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL, United States • 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm EDT
LGBTQ-themed books are under profound attack in the United States. They are challenged in droves and are decreed off-limits by school boards, legislators, and prison authorities. In PEN’s report “Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor,” during the 2022–23 school year, PEN America recorded 3,362 instances of books banned, an increase of 33 percent from the 2021–22 school year, with over 40 percent of all book bans occurring in school districts in Florida. 78% of the books banned are listed as young adult, middle grade, and picture books.
Join PEN Miami/South Florida and Books & Books for a vital conversation with New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer, whose books I am Rosa Parks and I am Martin Luther King Jr. have been challenged in schools across the country, and author Camryn Garrett, whose books feature celebrations of blackness and queerness. They will discuss the movement to ban books by and about LGBTQ people, particularly books aimed at younger audiences, and how to resist the censorship taking over our schools and libraries.
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/).
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!
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
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!
Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.
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.
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
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!
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.”
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.
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/).
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!
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
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!
Keep an eye on your inbox! At the end of October, we’ll reach out to you to see what swag you’d like.
Banned Books Week Coalition member National Coalition Against Censorship is cosponsoring a new essay contest for high school students! NCAC is joining forces with SCBWI Impact and Legacy Fund for the contest. Entries are due May 10, 2023.
Students age 14 to 18 are eligible for the contest. Entrants should write a 250 word essay on the topic “How a Banned Book Changed My Life.” Essays can be submitted online using this form or by emailing them to Gianmarco@ncac.org. Deadline for entry is May 10, 2023.
A panel of judges will select two winners, who will receive $250 credit for Kindle or Apple Books and will have the opportunity to read their essays aloud via Zoom at the 2023 SCBWI Impact and Legacy Fund Childrens’ Book Changemakers conference at 7:00 p.m. ET on June 8, 2023. Additionally, the two winners will have the opportunity to interview (and be interviewed by) acclaimed banned author Ellen Hopkins (Crank) as a part of the conference program.
The American Library Association has announced the theme for Banned Books Week 2023: “Let Freedom Read!” Banned Books Week will take place October 1 – 7, 2023.
“As we’ve seen throughout National Library Week, as long as there are libraries, Americans’ right to read will not be overcome by censorship,” says Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “Our 2023 Banned Books Week theme – ‘Let Freedom Read’ – captures what’s at stake for our democracy: that the safety of our right to speak and think freely is directly in proportion to our right to read. ALA encourages libraries in every context to mark Banned Books Week by inviting other groups within their communities to celebrate and take action to protect our freedom to read all year long.”
ALA offers a variety of “Let Freedom Read” downloads and materials, including posters, bookmarks, stickers, and buttons, as well as print-on-demand items such as apparel and drinkware. Evergreen assets without Banned Books Week dates and branding are available to encourage use and community engagement throughout the year.
Grants are available for libraries, schools and nonprofit groups planning Banned Books Week events in their communities. The Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund Programming Grant from the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) awards $1,000 to support Banned Books Week programs. The application deadline is May 19, 2023. Information about the grant, including past recipients and their projects, is available on the FTRF website.
Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas. ALA is one of the founders of Banned Books Week and a member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to raise awareness about intellectual freedom issues and to celebrating and defending the right to read during Banned Books Week and beyond.
About the American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visitwww.ala.org.
In conjunction with the release of today’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books list, ALA has called for a national day of action to protect libraries and the freedom to read — Right to Read Day! Right to Read Day also marks the first anniversary of the ALA-founded Unite Against Book Bans campaign, a public-facing advocacy initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.
“Right to Read Day is a national day of action—not just acknowledgement,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “ALA calls on readers everywhere to show our commitment to the First Amendment by doing something concrete to preserve it.
“The fight against censorship is too big for one person or library or organization to take on alone. And we don’t have to. That’s why ALA created Unite Against Book Bans: to be a collective voice in defending the right to read.”
Since the movement was launched in April 2022, Unite Against Book Bans has created and curated a set of free advocacy resources and provided direct support to community organizers. Local advocates have used and adapted these resources to fight censorship in communities like Llano County and League City, Texas, and in states like Missouri and Louisiana. ALA and its Unite Against Book Bans partners—individuals, authors, publishers, educators, advocacy groups and library organizations of all stripes—are calling on readers to take action on Right to Read Day and beyond.
Suggested Right to Read Day actions include:
Borrow a library book at risk of being banned.
Write a letter to the editor or to an elected leader.
Attend a meeting of local officials or library or school board.
Stage a public event or peaceful protest in support of libraries.
“Readers who think, ‘this will never happen in our community,’ need to think again. More than half the states have legislation proposed or passed that would take library books off the shelves, punish library workers who dare to make books accessible and silence the voices of LGBTQ, BIPOC and other authors. Speaking up and raising our voices now can stop censorship where it’s happening and prevent censorship where it’s just getting started.”
In addition to the call to action, Unite Against Book Bans partners will host Protecting Free Expression and the Right to Read, a virtual conversation with partners from ALA, PEN America and National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) prompted by “Forever Judy Blume,” the new documentary about renowned author and right to read advocate Judy Blume. ALA President Pelayo-Lozada, PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and NCAC Executive Director Christopher Finan will sit down with the documentary’s co-directors to discuss Judy Blume’s trailblazing work and the unprecedented surge of censorship sweeping across the country. Registration is required for the free virtual event, which will take place today at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
About National Library Week
National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. Established in 1957, the first National Library Week was based on the idea that once people were motivated to read, they would support and use libraries. The 2023 celebration marks the 65th anniversary of the first event.
Today, the American Library Association (ALA) kicked off National Library Week with the release of its highly anticipated list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2022 and the State of America’s Libraries Report, which tells the story of how libraries are innovating and adapting to improve the well-being of their communities in the midst of censorship challenges. This year, however, there were multiple books that received the same number of challenges – resulting in the expansion of the list to 13 titles.
Libraries in every state faced another year of unprecedented attempts to ban books. In 2022, ALA tracked the highest number of censorship reports since the association began compiling data about library censorship more than 20 years ago. ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, a 38% increase from the 1,858 unique titles targeted in 2021. Most of the targeted books were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color.
“By releasing the list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books each year, ALA recognizes all of the brave authors whose work challenges readers with stories that disrupt the status quo and offer fresh perspectives on tough issues,” said ALA President Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada. “The list also illustrates how frequently stories by or about LGBTQ+ persons, people of color, and lived experiences are being targeted by censors. Closing our eyes to the reality portrayed in these stories will not make life’s challenges disappear. Books give us courage and help us understand each other.
It’s time to take action on behalf of authors, library staff, and the communities they serve. ALA calls on readers everywhere to show your commitment to the freedom to read by doing something to protect it.”
Below are the most Top 13 Most Challenged Books of 2022:
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Reasons: depiction of sexual abuse, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
Flamer by Mike Curato Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
(TIE) Looking for Alaska by John Green Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content
(TIE) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, depiction of sexual abuse, drugs, profanity
Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit
(TIE) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit
(TIE) Crank by Ellen Hopkins Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs
(TIE) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews Reasons: Claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
(TIE) This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit
In response to the uptick in book challenges and other efforts to suppress access to information, ALA has designated every Monday of National Library Week moving forward as Right to Read Day, a day of action that encourages communities to fight back against censorship and to protect and celebrate the right to read freely. This year’s National Library Week also marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of Unite Against Book Bans, a nationwide initiative that empowers readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship. More information is available at uniteagainstbookbans.org.
About the American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visitwww.ala.org.
National Library Week (April 23 – 29, 2023) is a time to celebrate our nation’s libraries, library workers’ contributions and promote library use and support. The theme for National Library Week 2023 is “There’s More to the Story,” illustrating the fact that in addition to the books in library collections, available in a variety of formats, libraries offer so much more. Many libraries now lend items like museum passes, games, musical instruments, and tools. Library programming brings communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, and lectures. And library infrastructure advances communities, providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for businesses, job seekers, and entrepreneurs.
The American Library Association (ALA) kicks off National Library Week with the release of its State of America’s Libraries Report, including the list of Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2022
National Library Week Events
Monday, April 24: Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read. State of America’s Libraries Report released. Tuesday, April 25:National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. Thursday, April 27:Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.
Find more information, downloadable assets, and much more here.
Banned Books Week is drawing to close, but there are still plenty of ways to engage! Don’t miss events bestselling authors Jennifer Niven (All the Bright Places, Breathless), George M. Johnson (All Boys Aren’t Blue), Kyle Lukoff (When Aidan Became a Brother, Too Bright to See), and more! Keep reading…
For a complete event listing, please visit our events calendar here.
Virtual Event • 12:00 p.m. CDT Organized by ALA OIF
Join New York Times-bestselling author Jennifer Niven for a conversation about censorship and the implications for teens and the communities where book bans happen. Niven is the award-winning author of eleven books, including YA novels All the Bright Places, Holding up the Universe, Breathless, and Take Me With You When You Go (with David Levithan). … Read More
Virtual Event • 3:00 p.m. EDT Organized by American Booksellers Association
On September 12, at 3 p.m. ET, you are invited to join host Drag Queen Nebuer Styles for Banned Books Bingo. The Banned Books Bingo game card is available in ABA’s Banned Books Week digital assets. This virtual bingo game will not only be a lot of fun but it will also provide a blueprint … Read More
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G St NW, Washington, DC • 7:00 p.m EDT Organized by DC Public Library
In recognition of Banned Books Week, DC Public Library welcomes George M. Johnson, award-winning author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “We Are Not Broken.” The DC Public Library is thrilled to host author and activist George M. Johnson, honorary chair of the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week initiative. Johnson’s memoir “All Boys Aren’t Blue” has become … Read More
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G St NW, Washington, DC • 1:00 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN America
For Banned Books Week, National Book Award–honored author Kyle Lukoff (Too Bright to See, 2021 Young People’s Literature Finalist), DC Public Library Teen Services Coordinator Joanna Harris, and Managing Director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs Nadine Farid Johnson sit down to discuss the value of writing, publishing, and access to diverse books, and how we can come together and unite … Read More
Brooklyn Public Library 10 Grand Army Plz, Brooklyn, NY • 4:00 p.m. EDT Organized by Brooklyn Public Library
Last month Summer Boismier, a high school English teacher in Norman, Oklahoma, lost her job when she provided students with the QR Code to Brooklyn Public Library’s “Books Unbanned” initiative, which gives out-of-state teens access to the Library’s eBook collection, including books that might be banned where they live. Boismier’s story went viral and became … Read More
Source Booksellers 4240 Cass Avenue, Unit 105, Detroit, MI • 6:00 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN Ameerica
Join PEN America Detroit for a Banned Book Week in-person discussion on the anti-Blackness and homophobia inherent in the slate of book bans around the country. This conversation will offer strategies on how to push back against the recent book bans, while also offering a space to celebrate black gay literature in all of its permutations. Moderated … Read More
It’s Your Right to Read!
Banned Books Week offers an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns, celebrate free expression and show their communities the importance of intellectual freedom. The Banned Books Week Coalition partnered with HarperCollins Childrens Books, Little Free Library, and Bookshop.org on resources to help people know their rights, report censorship, and get involved. Check them out the resources here.
Banned Books Week may be drawing to a close in a couple days, but we’re not slowing down! Thursday is packed with amazing programming, from our Facebook Live with censored comics creators Maia Kobabe and Mike Curato to a slew of virtual and in-person events that focus on strategies for fighting censorship. Keep reading!
For a complete event listing, please visit our events calendar here.
Comic books have been targeted by censors for decades, from 1954 Senate subcommittee hearings about their alleged link to juvenile delinquency, to the implementation of a content code that nearly destroyed the industry, to today’s widespread attacks on comics, especially those that share the stories of LGBTQ+ individuals. Join the creators of two of today’s … Read More
Virtual Event • 12:00 p.m. CDT Organized by ALA OIF
How would you handle an attempt to censor books in your library? In this program, we’ll use ripped-from-the-headlines scenarios as discussion prompts to provide practical strategies and resources that librarians can use to inform their defense of challenged materials. The conversation will be lead by librarians from a variety of backgrounds: Moni Barrette (President, Graphic … Read More
DePaul University Library 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL • 2:00 p.m. CDT Organized by City Lit Theater
FREE readings around Chicago and Chicago suburbs. Various venues. See website for full list of events. 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 … Read More
Busboys and Poets (Anacostia) 2004 Martin Luther King Junior Avenue Southeast, Washington DC • 6:00 p.m. EDT Organized by The Emancipator
The Emancipator and Busboys and Poets invite you to an in-person conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Rep. Cori Bush to commemorate Banned Books Week. Come out for a lively discussion on the implications of book bans, as well as the growing embrace of censorship of all kinds in political rhetoric on Capitol Hill, … Read More
Utah Museum of Fine Arts 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City, UT • 4:00 p.m. MDT Organized by PEN America
PEN America Utah, the Tanner Humanities Center at the University of Utah, and author Azar Nafisi are partnering for an in-person conversation at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on Thursday, September 22 that will explore the role Humanities and Liberal Arts play in the preservation of democracy. This unscripted discussion will draw upon Nafisi’s own … Read More
As the school year begins, teachers and students are facing challenges to their intellectual freedom like never before. From state legislation to executive orders to school district policies to administrator actions, book bans are at an all-time high, and teacher shortages are affecting every corner of the nation. But as an ELA educator, you do … Read More
In observance of Banned Book Week, MTH&M and Hartford Public Library present a virtual conversation between Deborah Caldwell-Stone, executive director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, and Hartford Public Library CEO Bridget Quinn. Presented in partnership with the Unite Against Book Bans campaign. Upon its publication in 1885, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was immediately banned … Read More
Book bans are on the rise across the country as states seemingly compete to see who can place the most restrictions on free speech. As this latest wave of censorship activity continues to build, what is your role as a library user? In this interactive webinar during Banned Books Week, you’ll learn about why intellectual freedom … Read More
Virtual Event • 6:00 p.m. PDT Organized by PEN America
City Lights in conjunction with PEN America present FROM HOWL TO NOW: BOOK BANS IN THE U.S. Moderated by Ipek Burnett with appearances by Marcus Ewert, Justin Hall, Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes and Dashka Slater During Banned Books Week, PEN America and Bay Area authors come together to discuss the alarming rise in book bans … Read More
It’s Your Right to Read!
Banned Books Week offers an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns, celebrate free expression and show their communities the importance of intellectual freedom. The Banned Books Week Coalition partnered with HarperCollins Childrens Books, Little Free Library, and Bookshop.org on resources to help people know their rights, report censorship, and get involved. Check them out the resources here.
We’re halfway through Banned Books Week, and the stars are bright in today’s events! The Banned Books Week Coalition is honored to host Angie Thomas and Jerry Craft for a Facebook livestream; Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson moderates an event on LGBTQ+ censorship; Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Cameron Samuels joins other community organizers to talk about their experiences fighting book bans; Booklist hosts a conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones, Renée Watson, Kim Johnson, and Kyle Lukoff; and Ali Velshi will moderate a panel with author Laurie Halse Anderson and others. And there’s so much more going on!
For a complete event listing, please visit our events calendar here.
Join New York Times bestselling authors Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, Concrete Rose) and Jerry Craft (New Kid, Class Act) for a conversation about the censorship of books dealing with racial identity and racism. The authors will discuss the censorship of their work and the implications for readers, authors, and the community. They will be joined by Jeremy C. Young, Senior … Read More
Virtual Event • 2:00 p.m EDT Organized by Booklist
Join Penguin Random House and Booklist for a special Banned Books Week event to hear from authors Nikole Hannah-Jones (The 1619 Project), Renée Watson (The 1619 Project: Born on the Water), Kim Johnson (This is My America), and Kyle Lukoff (Different Kinds of Fruit and Too Bright to See), who have all experienced first-hand having … Read More
John T Richardson Library 2350 North Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL • 1:00 p.m. CDT Organized by City Lit Theater
The DePaul University Library welcomes City Lit Theater for Books on the Chopping Block! a performance of selections from the most frequently banned and challenged books of 2021. Q&A with the performers to follow. This is a hybrid event, open to the DePaul University community and our neighbors. Join us via Zoom or in person … Read More
Virtual Event • 1:30 p.m. CDT Organized by ALA OIF
New day, new censorship! Attempts to remove books from school and public libraries are on the rise, leaving many librarians and members of the communities they support with a sense of powerlessness. But you are not alone! Learn about ways you can support libraries and combat censorship from experienced activists who have been defending the … Read More
New York Public Library: Celeste Bartos Forum 476 Fifth Ave, New York, NY • 6:00 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN America
Censorship and book bans are nothing new in American life. In the 19th century, it was the federal Comstock laws barring the delivery and distribution of “every obscene, lewd, or lascivious” book. Today, books that highlight race, gender, or sexuality are being yanked from public shelves around the country. Join PEN America and the New … Read More
Spider House Ballroom 2908 Fruth St, Austin, TX • 6:00 pm CDT Organized by PEN America
Join PEN Austin as we celebrate the right to read during Banned Book Week 2022 with a community reading of banned books. There has been a deluge of book bans in Texas. PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans has listed 1,586 instances of individual books being banned within a nine-month period, 712 from the state of Texas alone; … Read More
Amidst the growing threat of LGBTQ book bans nationwide, The Emancipator and GLAAD are teaming up to present a virtual Banned Books Week event at 7:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Sept. 21, featuring some of the nation’s best known LGBTQ authors and illustrators. The dialogue will be moderated by Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson, … Read More
Burdock Book Collective 4413 5th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL • 6:30 p.m. CDT Organized by PEN America
Join PEN Birmingham for an intimate conversation centering the issue of restrictive book bans targeting women, queer, trans and intersex people in an era of increasing threats to body autonomy. In Alabama, sex education is not currently mandated, and schools that do teach sex education must emphasize abstinence. Books that offer perspectives of LGBTQ+ people are routinely … Read More
Virtual Event • 7:00 pm CDT Organized by PEN America
Join PEN Tulsa for a virtual conversation addressing the homophobia and transphobia embedded in the recent wave of book bans in Oklahoma and across the country. Moderated by Tulsa-based writer and publisher Ryan Fitzgibbon, the conversation will feature celebrated author and illustrator Mike Curato and PEN Across America Director Program William Johnson. This conversation will offer strategies on how to push back against … Read More
It’s Your Right to Read!
Banned Books Week offers an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns, celebrate free expression and show their communities the importance of intellectual freedom. The Banned Books Week Coalition partnered with HarperCollins Childrens Books, Little Free Library, and Bookshop.org on resources to help people know their rights, report censorship, and get involved. Check them out the resources here.
It’s two for Tuesday — we don’t just have one event with New York Times bestselling author and Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson, but two! But that’s not all that’s happening today! Keep reading to find out more…
For a complete event listing, please visit our events calendar here.
Join Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson for an intimate conversation about censorship and how it impacts readers, especially young adults. Johnson will discuss the censorship of their critically acclaimed bestselling novel All Boys Aren’t Blue, which was the third title on the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021, … Read More
Housing Works Bookstore 126 Crosby Street, New York, NY • 5:30 p.m. EDT Organized by NCTE
Censorship continues a record-breaking sweep across our nation in the form of book bans, removal of literacy materials from school libraries, and the limitation on educators’ speech in the classroom. Teachers, parents, and citizens often feel hopeless when seeking ways to combat censorship, but there are some novel approaches recently taken by libraries, associations, and … Read More
Queeny’s 321 East Chapel Hill Street, #Suite 100, Durham, NC • 6:30 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN America
For Banned Book Week 2022, PEN Piedmont North Carolina, in partnership with the North Carolina Writers Network, will be hosting a free speech “social cocktail hour” with drinks and appetizers. This event will provide an opportunity for free speech advocates, librarians, authors, and the general public to share their thoughts and possible advocacy tools regarding the recent … Read More
Virtual Event • 9:00 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN America
The U.S. has seen a dramatic rise in school book bans and educational censorship, in the guise of prohibitions on teachers, libraries, and curricula. Nationwide, students, teachers, and parents are facing a wave of these measures, which disproportionately target books about people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, or books engaging themes of sexuality and gender. Books … Read More
It’s Your Right to Read!
Banned Books Week offers an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns, celebrate free expression and show their communities the importance of intellectual freedom. The Banned Books Week Coalition partnered with HarperCollins Childrens Books, Little Free Library, and Bookshop.org on resources to help people know their rights, report censorship, and get involved. Check them out the resources here.
Banned Books Week is kicking off with events, events, and more events! The Banned Books Week Coalition is delighted to have Youth Honorary Chair Cameron Samuels leading a chat with other youth activists, and the members of the Coalition have some exciting things in store for today! Keep reading for look at what we’re up to today…
For a complete event listing, please visit our events calendar here.
What is it like to be the only teen protesting censorship at school board meetings? How do you go from being the only voice of opposition to leading the fight against censorship in your community – and inspiring others to do the same? In this program, Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Cameron Samuels (they/them) … Read More
Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer: A Memoir achieved resounding victory in the Virginia courts. Join CBLDF for an inside look at the case from Maia’s legal representation in Virginia Beach, Jeff Trexler (CBLDF Interim Director) and Steven Emmert. Learn the roots of the case, its progression through the legal system, and why the case was dismissed. This event is a great … Read More
The books that are most frequently targeted for censorship are those that capture the attention of younger readers, which leaves many of them confused about the validity of their interests, their personal identities, and their First Amendment rights. This program will examine the censorship of content for young people and their rights from the perspective … Read More
Virtual Event, 4:00 p.m. EDT Organized by Bookshop.org
Kick off Banned Books Week with a special IG Live discussion featuring author George M. Johnson and Little District Bookstore owner Patrick Kern. @bookshop_org @iamgmjohnson @littledistrictbooks
What is the impact on authors when their books are banned from schools, libraries, and elsewhere? What challenges do they face? Does it affect sales or marketing? Does it change what or how they write going forward, or impact their ability to sell their next book? Much of the public discourse focuses on the politics … Read More
Virtual Event, 7:00 p.m. EDT Organized by PEN America
Join PEN Across America, Mount Vernon Public Library, and Banned Book Week Chairs Alyssa Gómez Lawrence and Debbie Nabubwaya Chambers on Monday, September 19 at 7:00 PM for an online discussion of Ray Bradbury’s classic novel, Fahrenheit 451 and the issues the book raises around censorship and free expression. About Fahrenheit 451: Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the … Read More
It’s Your Right to Read!
Banned Books Week offers an opportunity for readers to voice censorship concerns, celebrate free expression and show their communities the importance of intellectual freedom. The Banned Books Week Coalition partnered with HarperCollins Childrens Books, Little Free Library, and Bookshop.org on resources to help people know their rights, report censorship, and get involved. Check them out the resources here.
Banned Books is almost here! Banned Books Week officially kicks off on Sunday, and we’re excited to have an amazing lineup of Facebook livestreams to mark the week! Check them out!
All events are free — simply join the Banned Books Week Facebook page at the appointed hour! These are a great opportunity to engage your students or patrons in Banned Books Week programming, and each event will feature a short Q&A.
Youth Honorary Chair Cameron Samuels Leads a Conversation on Youth Activism
Monday, September 19, 6:00 p.m. EDT
What is it like to be the only teen protesting censorship at school board meetings? How do you go from being the only voice of opposition to leading the fight against censorship in your community – and inspiring others to do the same? In this program, Banned Books Week Honorary Chair Cameron Samuels (they/them) will lead a conversation with youth activists from around the United States. These inspiring young leaders will talk about their experiences and share their ideas for how others can get involved! More info…
Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson’s Moment in the Spotlight
Tuesday, September 20, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Join Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson for an intimate conversation about censorship and how it impacts readers, especially young adults. Johnson will discuss the censorship of their critically acclaimed bestselling novel All Boys Aren’t Blue, which was the third title on the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021, and the ongoing attacks on books and information related to LGBTQ+ identity. This one-on-one conversation will be led by Freedom to Read Foundation President and librarian Peter Coyl and include a short Q&A. More info…
Angie Thomas and Jerry Craft Get Real About Censorship
Wednesday, September 21, 6:00 p.m. EDT
Join New York Times bestselling authors Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, Concrete Rose) and Jerry Craft (New Kid, Class Act) for a conversation about the censorship of books dealing with racial identity and racism. The authors will discuss the censorship of their work and the implications for readers, authors, and the community. They will be joined by Jeremy C. Young, Senior Manager of Free Expression and Education at PEN America, who will offer perspective on how legislation is impacting and even fueling censorship. The program will be moderated by Amber Payne Co-Editor in Chief for The Emancipator, a digital commentary platform born from a collaboration between The Boston Globe and Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.
Event made possible with the support of HarperCollins Publishers. More info…
Maia Kobabe and Mike Curato Explain Why LGBTQ+ Comics Belong in Schools and Libraries
Thursday, September 22, 5:00 p.m. EDT
Comic books have been targeted by censors for decades, from 1954 Senate subcommittee hearings about their alleged link to juvenile delinquency, to the implementation of a content code that nearly destroyed the industry, to today’s widespread attacks on comics, especially those that share the stories of LGBTQ+ individuals. Join the creators of two of today’s most acclaimed and frequently censored graphic novels — Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer) and Mike Curato (Flamer) — for a conversation about the attempts to censor their work and LGBTQ+ stories. Greg Rokisky, Senior Manager of Digital Strategy at PFLAG National, and Jordan Smith, Digital Editor at Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, will lead the conversation. More info…
Can’t make it live? We have you covered! All events will be recorded and released on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel after Banned Books Week.
The individual members of the Banned Books Week Coalition are also hosting events throughout the week! We’ll have a rundown for you before it kicks off, and you can find them in the Banned Books Week events calendar here. (Hint: Look for the Featured events!)
Banned Books Week is the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The event is sponsored by a coalition of organizations dedicated to free expression, including American Booksellers for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Amnesty International USA, Association of University Presses, Authors Guild, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), Freedom to Read Foundation, GLAAD, Index on Censorship, National Book Foundation, National Coalition Against Censorship, National Council of Teachers of English, PEN America, People For the American Way Foundation, PFLAG, and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Banned Books Week also receives generous support from HarperCollins Publishers and Penguin Random House.
Join Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George M. Johnson this Wednesday, August 24, at 7:00 p.m. EDT for a #BannedBooksChat on Twitter!
George M. Johnson (they/them) is an award-winning Black nonbinary activist and author of TheNew York Times–bestselling young adult memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020) and We Are Not Broken (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021). All Boys Aren’t Blue was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library, and it has been optioned for television by Gabrielle Union’s I’ll Have Another Productions. Johnson has written for several major outlets, including Teen Vogue, VICE, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, The Root, Buzzfeed, Essence, and TheGrio.
During the #BannedBooksChat, Johnson and participants will share their thoughts on the following questions:
WARM-UP: Please introduce yourself. Tell us your name and location, and tell us about – or show us! – your favorite #BannedBook! #BannedBooksWeek #BannedBooksChat
Q1: For years now, books by or about LGBTQ+ people have been among the most frequently challenged. In what ways are these materials valuable, and what are the effects of their loss? #BannedBooksChat
Q2: Censorship of LGBTQ+ books and content is on the rise in schools and libraries. Why should people who aren’t part of these two communities care about this censorship? #BannedBooksChat
Q3: What do we say to young people who might be denied access to books? How can we reassure and empower them? #BannedBooksWeek #BannedBooksChat
Q4: What advice do you have for people who are defending LGBTQ+ stories and programming in libraries and schools? What are some resources to which they can turn? #BannedBooksWeek #BannedBooksChat
Q5: The theme of #BannedBooksWeek is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us.” What are some examples of books that bring us together? #BooksUniteUs #BannedBooksChat
Q6: How do you plan to participate in #BannedBooksWeek and defend the freedom to read in your community? #BannedBooksChat
Don’t miss this chance to converse with Johnson and other intellectual freedom advocates — or to share your own tips for defending books from censorship — during the #BannedBooksChat on August 24 at 7:00 p.m. EDT!
How Twitter Chats Work
The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords in a Tweet, which makes it easy to see the full conversation on a particular topic. For our Twitter chat, we will use the hashtag #BannedBooksChat
At the time of the chat, type #BannedBooksChat into the search box at the top of your Twitter homepage to see the conversation. Listen in, watch the comments from other attendees, and speak up when you are ready!
When discussion questions are posed, they will be labeled with a Q and a number representing the order. If you are responding to a question, use an A and the number of the prompt. To ensure your comment is automatically pulled into the chat feed for others to see, be sure to include #BannedBooksChat in your Tweet.
Example:
Q1. What does advocacy look like for students in your classroom/community? What are some ways or tools that students use to amplify their voices? #BannedBooksChat
When you respond, you would tweet:
A1. [your answer] #BannedBooksChat
A huge part of Twitter chats is responding to other participants’ answers and keeping the conversation going. Because you have the questions in advance of the chat, you can have your answers ready to go if you want! Many people use a tool like TweetDeck or Hootsuite to make following Twitter chats easier.
Twitter chats move quickly! If you can’t catch everything as it’s happening, don’t worry! You can search for #BannedBooksChat to find the conversation.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is proud to announce that George M. Johnson has been named Honorary Chair for Banned Books Week 2022. The critically acclaimed—and frequently banned—author will lead the weeklong event, which brings awareness to the harms of censorship September 18–24, 2022.
George M. Johnson (they/them) is an award-winning Black nonbinary activist and author of TheNew York Times–bestselling young adult memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020) and We Are Not Broken (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2021). All Boys Aren’t Blue was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library, and it has been optioned for television by Gabrielle Union’s I’ll Have Another Productions. Johnson has written for several major outlets, including Teen Vogue, VICE, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, The Root, Buzzfeed, Essence, and TheGrio.
All Boys Aren’t Blue was the third title on the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021, an annual list released during National Library Week. Like most of the books on the list, All Boys Aren’t Blue was challenged for LGBTQ+ content, which is disproportionately targeted for censorship alongside works dealing with racism and racial identity. Several state legislatures have passed or are considering laws that would limit instruction related to LGBTQ+ identity and race. Johnson and many other authors addressing these issues are impacted, and students are harmed by the resulting censorship.
“Being the honorary chair for Banned Books Week is important to me because I know what it is like to grow up and not have stories about my own lived experience, nor the truth outside of an ahistorical context,” says Johnson. “This is a fight for the truth that has always existed even if it rarely gets told. When the youth are empowered with stories about the experiences of others, they become adults who understand the necessity for equity and equality and have the tools to build a world the likes of which we have never seen.”
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has drawn attention to the attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Banned Books Week 2022 has the theme “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” All readers deserve to see themselves reflected in the books available to them, and people better understand themselves and each other when given the opportunity to choose what they want to read without restriction. This is particularly true for young people, who are most impacted by censorship. The theme image of caged birds reminds us that censorship isolates us from information and from each other.
Join Honorary Chair George M. Johnson and the Banned Books Week Coalition in recognizing the ways in which books unite us during Banned Books Week, September 18–24, 2022!
George M. Johnson is a writer and activist based in New York. They have written on race, gender, sex, and culture for Essence, the Advocate, BuzzFeed News, Teen Vogue, and more than 40 other national publications. George has appeared on BuzzFeed’s AM2DM as well as on MSNBC. All Boys Aren’t Blue is their debut and was an Amazon Best Book of the Year, an Indie Bestseller, a People Magazine Best Book of the Year, and optioned for television by Gabrielle Union. The New York Times called it “an exuberant, unapologetic memoir infused with a deep but cleareyed love for its subjects.”
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
Do you have a burning question (about censorship) for New York Times bestselling author and Banned Books Week Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds?! If you’re a teen or an educator, a librarian, or a bookseller who works with teens, now’s your chance! The Banned Books Week Coalition wants to include you in our Facebook Live event with Jason Reynolds at 1:00 p.m. EDT on September 28!
Send us your questions using this form, and they could be included in our conversation with Jason Reynolds! We’re accepting text and video submissions, and those that we include in the event will receive a copy of Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks or a Banned Books Week poster, signed by the author himself! Submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. EDT on September 17, 2021.
See who’s included when we join Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds on Facebook Live, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. EDT on September 28, 2021!
You can celebrate the ways in which books unite us throughout Banned Books Week, September 26 – October 2, 2021! The Banned Books Week Coalition is here to support your celebration of reading, with programming ideas, promotional materials, and other resources! Visit bannedbooksweek.org or follow @BannedBooksWeek on Twitter to get the latest Banned Books Week and censorship news.
How To Submit
Contestants can submit questions in text or video format using this form. Video submissions should be limited to 30 seconds or less (shorter is better). The contest is free to enter.
Contestants must be either living in the U.S. or its territories (but need not be citizens) and must be 13 – 20 years of age on September 28, 2021. Educators, librarians, and booksellers who work with teens ages 13 – 20 are also encouraged to submit videos with their classes and/or book clubs.
Submissions are due by 5:00 p.m. EDT on September 17, 2021.
Prizes
l: Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks (published by Simon & Schuster) r: Banned Books Week 2021 Poster (copyright American Library Association)
Individuals whose questions are selected for inclusion in the Facebook Live event will receive a copy of Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, signed by Jason Reynolds!
Submissions from a class or book club chosen to be included in the event will be awarded with a Banned Books Week poster, signed by Jason Reynolds.
All questions (text and video) should be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 17.
Videos should be submitted via YouTube link. Video submissions cannot exceed 30 seconds in length. Shorter submissions are encouraged.
Questions should address the theme of Banned Books Week (“Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”), intellectual freedom, censorship, and/or works by Jason Reynolds. Be creative!
Individual contestants must be age 13 – 20 on the day of the Facebook Live event (September 28, 2021).
Questions may be submitted by classes or book clubs and their adult supervisors as long as the teens involved are age 13 – 20 on the day of the Facebook Live event (September 28, 2021).
Contestants must live in the United States or its territories. U.S. citizenship is not required for entry.
Questions selected for inclusion will be shown during the Facebook Live event on September 28 (for video submissions) and the contestant’s first name, city, and state will be shared during the event (for both text and video submissions). For class or book club submissions, the contestants’ school, library, or bookstore, as well as city and state, will be identified.
Prizes: A combined maximum of ten (10) novels signed by Jason Reynolds (for individual contestants) OR Banned Books Week posters signed by Jason Reynolds (for classes and book clubs). Contestants selected for inclusion in the contest will be contacted via email after the event and will have until the end of Banned Books Week (October 2, 2021) to claim their prize. Prizes will be delivered within eight (8) weeks of the conclusion of Banned Books Week (October 2, 2021).
This contest is sponsored and maintained by the Banned Books Week Coalition. It is not directly overseen by Jason Reynolds or Simon & Schuster and its subsidiaries.
We recently had the pleasure of joining Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds for a #BannedBooksChat on Twitter. Ever the advocate for reading, especially among young people, Reynolds proved why he’s such a powerful voice in publishing today. Some highlights from the #BannedBooksChat:
Q1: #BannedBooksWeek is all about celebrating the freedom to read, but a lot of young people need extra motivation to read. What are some ways we can encourage a love of reading as we work to defend the right to do so? #BannedBooksChat
A1: I think about this all the time. We first have to accept that sometimes "books" as objects can be intimidating. So what if we allow more freedom when it comes to even how we think about reading. A lot of us have been screaming this for years, but…EVERYTHING COUNTS. https://t.co/1FhJV9h8k9
Q2: In the past few years, nearly every book on the @OIF #BannedBooksList was aimed at young adult audiences. What drives these attempts to ban young people’s literature, and how do we counter it? #BannedBooksChat
A2: I think books for young audiences are banned most often because many adults (in their infinite fear) believe it's better to shield young people than to help young people grow to become shields for others. #BannedBooksChat
Q3: This year’s @OIF #BannedBooksList (bit.ly/2xB4MfQ) includes titles that address racism, share BIPOC stories, and center on LGBTQ+ characters. What advice do you have for defending these stories from censorship? #BannedBooksChat
A3: For the writers, let's keep writing. I think it's okay for work to be challenging, without it being challenged. Our jobs are to do that, IMO. #BannedBooksChathttps://t.co/6AGaPiAwxO
Q4: Several states have passed or are considering laws that limit teaching related to race and gender in schools (https://ncac.org/news/divisive-concepts-statement-2021). How does singling out and censoring these ideas harm students? #BannedBooksChat
A4: Oof. It harms kids the same way not teaching what's actually in our food harms kids. The fear is that if they knew what was in a McNugget, they wouldn't eat McNuggets, when really that should be the goal. #BannedBooksChathttps://t.co/lIOuEjFQAz
Q5: The theme of this year’s #BannedBooksWeek (Sept 26 – Oct 2) is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us.” What are some examples of books that bring us together? #BannedBooksChat
Q6: How do you plan to celebrate #BannedBooksWeek and the freedom to read in your community? #BannedBooksChat
A6: By reading whatever I wanttttt. And, by continuing to show up for the youngins. I'm telling yall now, whatever questions they ask during q&a at your school, I'm answering honestly. I'm always gonna honor the kid despite all this extra noise. Is what it is. #BannedBooksChathttps://t.co/hmfP3ytSTw
Many thanks to Reynolds and everyone who joined the chat. Read the full #BannedBooksChat archive below, and don’t forget to mark your calendars for our live event with Banned Books Week Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds, taking place at 1:00 p.m. EDT on September 28!
Join Banned Books Week and Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds on Monday, August 2, at 4:00 p.m. EDT for a #BannedBooksChat on Twitter!
Reynolds is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, including All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Ghost, Long Way Down, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, and Stamped (with Ibram X. Kendi). A multiple National Book Award finalist, Reynolds has also received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and several Coretta Scott King Award honors. Reynolds recently received the Carnegie Medal for his middle grades novel Look Both Ways. He is currently serving a two-year term as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for the Library of Congress.
As an advocate for storytelling and an outspoken critic of censorship, Reynolds is the perfect person to headline Banned Books Week 2021, which takes place September 26 – October 2 and has the theme, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
During the Twitter chat, Reynolds and participants will share their thoughts on the following questions:
WARM-UP: Please introduce yourself. Tell us your name and location, and tell us about – or show us! – your favorite #BannedBook! #BannedBooksChat [4:04 p.m. EDT]
Q1: #BannedBooksWeek is all about celebrating the freedom to read, but a lot of young people need extra motivation to read. What are some ways we can encourage a love of reading as we work to defend the right to do so? #BannedBooksChat [4:10 p.m. EDT]
Q2: In the past few years, nearly every book on the @OIF #BannedBooksList was aimed at young adult audiences. What drives these attempts to ban young people’s literature, and how do we counter it? #BannedBooksChat [4:18 p.m. EDT]
Q3: This year’s @OIF #BannedBooksList (bit.ly/2xB4MfQ) includes titles that address racism, share BIPOC stories, and center on LGBTQ+ characters. What advice do you have for defending these stories from censorship? #BannedBooksChat [4:26 p.m. EDT]
Q4: Several states have passed or are considering laws that limit teaching related to race and gender in schools (https://ncac.org/news/divisive-concepts-statement-2021). How does singling out and censoring these ideas harm students? #BannedBooksChat [4:34 p.m. EDT]
Q5: The theme of this year’s #BannedBooksWeek (Sept 26 – Oct 2) is “Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us.” What are some examples of books that bring us together? #BannedBooksChat [4:42 p.m. EDT]
Q6: How do you plan to celebrate #BannedBooksWeek and the freedom to read in your community? #BannedBooksChat [4:50 p.m. EDT]
Don’t miss your chance to converse with Jason Reynolds and other free expression advocates during the #BannedBooksChat on August 2, 2021, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. EDT!
How Twitter Chats Work
The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords in a Tweet, which makes it easy to see the full conversation on a particular topic. For our Twitter chat, we will use the hashtag #BannedBooksChat
At the time of the chat, type #BannedBooksChat into the search box at the top of your Twitter homepage to see the conversation. Listen in, watch the comments from other attendees, and speak up when you are ready!
When discussion questions are posed, they will be labeled with a Q and a number representing the order. If you are responding to a question, use an A and the number of the prompt. To ensure your comment is automatically pulled into the chat feed for others to see, be sure to include #BannedBooksChat in your Tweet.
Example:
Q1. What does advocacy look like for students in your classroom/community? What are some ways or tools that students use to amplify their voices? #BannedBooksChat
When you respond, you would tweet:
A1. [your answer] #BannedBooksChat
A huge part of Twitter chats is responding to other participants’ answers and keeping the conversation going. Because you have the questions in advance of the chat, you can have your answers ready to go if you want! Many people use a tool like TweetDeck or Hootsuite to make following Twitter chats easier.
Twitter chats move quickly! If you can’t catch everything as it’s happening, don’t worry! You can search for #BannedBooksChat to find the conversation.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is proud to announce that Jason Reynolds has been named the inaugural Honorary Chair for Banned Books Week 2021. The New York Times bestselling author will headline the annual celebration of the right to read, which takes place September 26 – October 2, 2021.
Reynolds is the author of more than a dozen books for young people, including All American Boys (with Brendan Kiely), Ghost, Long Way Down, Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, and Stamped (with Ibram X. Kendi). A multiple National Book Award finalist, Reynolds has also received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and several Coretta Scott King Award honors. He is currently serving a two-year term as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for the Library of Congress.
As an advocate for storytelling and an outspoken critic of censorship, Reynolds is the perfect person to headline Banned Books Week 2021, which has the theme, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” For young people in particular, books offer both shared and differently lived experiences that help them develop empathy and understand themselves and their world. In turn, censorship isolates us from each other by narrowing our view of the world.
“I’m excited about being the inaugural Honorary Chair for Banned Books Week,” says Reynolds. “More importantly, I’m excited about this year’s theme, which is so simple, yet so powerful. What does it mean when we say, ‘Books unite us?’ It means that books are the tethers that connect us culturally. Stories ground us in our humanity; they convince us that we’re not actually that different and that the things that are actually different about us should be celebrated because they are what make up this tapestry of life.”
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has highlighted the value of free and open access to information by drawing attention to the attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Despite their accolades, Reynolds’s novels aren’t immune from censorship. All American Boys and Stamped, both of which address racism and police brutality, have been challenged repeatedly and are among the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020, an annual list released during National Library Week in early April. ALA’s Top 10 list included other books on racial justice, highlighting a growing trend toward attempts to censor stories by Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. Further, several state legislatures are considering laws that would limit instruction related to antiracism and social justice, negatively impacting the availability of material by Reynolds and other authors addressing these issues.
“To censor a book is to damage the framework in which we live,” adds Reynolds. “Any time we eliminate or wall off certain narratives, we are not getting a whole picture of the world in which we live. And navigating the world in a way that is closed-off, closed-minded, is poisonous. It means that we limit our vocabulary, which complicates how we communicate with one another. We have to celebrate stories and ensure that all books have a space on the shelves and the opportunity to live in the psyches of our children, as they grow into the human beings who will inherit this wonderful place.”
Join Honorary Chair Jason Reynolds to celebrate the ways in which books unite us during Banned Books Week, September 26 – October 2, 2021! The Banned Books Week Coalition is here to support your celebration of reading, with programming ideas, promotional materials, and other resources! Visit bannedbooksweek.org or follow @BannedBooksWeek on Twitter to get the latest Banned Books Week and censorship news.
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He’s also the 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include Stamped, When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Look Both Ways, and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com
ABOUT THE BANNED BOOKS WEEK COALITION
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is delighted to announce our theme for the 2021 celebration of the right to read: “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” The annual event will take place September 26 – October 2, 2021.
With a central image showing two hands sharing a book, the 2021 theme is intended to be inclusive and emphasizes the ways in which books and information bring people together, help individuals see themselves in the stories of others, and aid the development of empathy and understanding for people from other backgrounds.
The Coalition announces the Banned Books Week theme in conjunction with National Library Week and the release of the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books list. This year’s list includes titles that address racism and racial justice, as well as those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list:
George by Alex Gino. Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism and because it was thought to promote antipolice views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint, it was claimed to be biased against male students, and it included rape and profanity.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the author.
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote antipolice views.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes and their negative effect on students.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Challenged for profanity, and because it was thought to promote an antipolice message.
Please visit bannedbooksweek.org and follow our social media for updates on Coalition events and resources. You’ll also find print and digital assets, publications, and more to help you plan and promote your event, and we will be adding even more resources in the coming months!
If you need posters, bookmarks, buttons, or other physical materials for your Banned Books Week celebration, visit the ALA webstore!
Finally, the Coalition maintains a free public events page for happenings around the world. Anyone hosting an event or putting up a display is encouraged to visit https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/ to have it included on the list.
Join us for the celebration of the ways in which books unite us during Banned Books Week, September 26 – October 2, 2021!
ABOUT THE BANNED BOOKS WEEK COALITION
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
It’s National Library Week, which means it’s time for the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2020 list!
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracks attempts to ban or restrict access to books. More than 273 titles were challenged or banned in 2020, with increasing demands to remove books that address racism and racial justice or those that shared the stories of Black, Indigenous, or people of color. As with previous years, LGBTQ+ content also dominated the list.
George by Alex Gino. Challenged, banned, and restricted for LGBTQIA+ content, conflicting with a religious viewpoint, and not reflecting “the values of our community.”
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds. Banned and challenged because of the author’s public statements and because of claims that the book contains “selective storytelling incidents” and does not encompass racism against all people.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. Banned and challenged for profanity, drug use, and alcoholism and because it was thought to promote antipolice views, contain divisive topics, and be “too much of a sensitive matter right now.”
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Banned, challenged, and restricted because it was thought to contain a political viewpoint, it was claimed to be biased against male students, and it included rape and profanity.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. Banned and challenged for profanity, sexual references, and allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of the author.
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice by Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard, illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin. Challenged for “divisive language” and because it was thought to promote antipolice views.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and their negative effect on students, featuring a “white savior” character, and its perception of the Black experience.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Banned and challenged for racial slurs and racist stereotypes and their negative effect on students.
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Banned and challenged because it was considered sexually explicit and depicts child sexual abuse.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. Challenged for profanity, and because it was thought to promote an antipolice message.
ALA also analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American libraries in their State of America’s Libraries Report 2021, with Director of Communications and Marketing Office Stephanie Hlywak noting that “Nothing about 2020 was business as usual in any part of American society, and libraries and their workers, users, and services were all deeply impacted by the pandemic.”
Libraries proved resilient in the pandemic, adapting to a new way of business and finding novel ways to serve their communities amid shutdowns, stay-at-home orders, and other challenges. Many libraries became tech hubs for remote learning, guiding teachers, students, and parents in the use of new technologies and tools.
We were delighted to host three amazing virtual events this week, with free expression superstars Gene Luen Yang, Cody Miller, Jung Kim, Portugal The Man, Alex Gino, and Peter Coyl! In case you missed it, we have the details and videos below.
Banned Books Week, the National Council for Teachers of English, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund spoke with Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, Dragon Hoops, Superman Smashes the Klan) and educators Cody Miller and Jung Kim about censorship, the importance of diverse literature, and the use of comics in classrooms.
Grammy Award-winning musicians and free expression heroes Zach Carothers and Eric Howk of Portugal The Man joined Banned Books Week and the National Coalition Against Censorship to discuss the protest when the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board, which oversees schools in the band’s hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, voted to remove five classic novels from the 11th grade reading list. Through their charitable non-profit, PTM Foundation, Portugal The Man helped provide thousands of copies of the banned books to students in the district.
Acclaimed and award-winning author Alex Gino joined Banned Books Week, ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, and Peter Coyl (Director, Montclair Public Library) for a discussion about the censorship of Gino’s award-winning middle grade novel George, which led ALA OIF’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books lists for 2019 and 2018. We also discussed the importance of access to information for young readers and representation on the shelf.
It may be the last day of Banned Books Week, but it’s not too late to take part in the fun! You can write your favorite banned author (here’s a good place to start if you’re having a hard time deciding who you want to write to), thank your favorite free speech defender, Stand for the Banned in the virtual read-out, or use our customizable downloads to share your favorite banned books and trivia!
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
We’re telling “Scary Stories” with today’s Banned Books Week events spotlight, which includes a watch party with Cody Meirick, the director of the documentary that digs into the impact of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. Keep reading for more on today’s Banned Books Week events!
Charles Soule (Undiscovered Country, Daredevil) in conversation with Matthew Noe (GNCRT President-Elect) on why comics so often wind up on annual most challenged books lists, what comics are most often challenged, and what you can do to overcome negative opinions of comics.
Join the American Library Association for a national watch party of “Scary Stories,” a documentary that digs into the history and impact of the banned book “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz. After the film join us on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel for a Q&A with the director, Cody Meirick.
Celebrate “Banned Books Week” with book-themed online bingo! Players can try to win by being the first person to mark 5 titles of banned or challenged books in a row (going up or down, left or right, or diagonally). Book titles will include those for children, tweens/teens, and adults. Learn more about Banned Books Week … Read More
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
Happy Banned Books Week day 5! The celebration of the right to read might be heading toward it’s end, but censorship never stops! Learn about censorship in the comics industry with Image Comics and ALA, enjoy a performance of City Lit Theater’s Books on the Chopping Block, and more in today’s happening. And don’t forget you can still join the celebration on social media! Read on for details.
It’s not just libraries that have banned comics – sometimes it’s the comics industry itself. Chloe Ramos (Image Comics) and other panelists in conversation with Dan Wood (Escondido Public Library) will discuss how harassment serves as a form of censorship within the industry by creating unsafe and unwelcoming environments, and how awareness of these issues … Read More
Celebrate your freedom to read by joining us for a virtual presentation of dramatic readings by City Lit Theater Company featuring the American Library Association’s list of top 10 most challenged books of 2019. City Lit has performed this annual event since 2006 and is excited to showcase these books and to engage with you … Read More
Lecture about censorship of books and the press in Brasília during the Military Dictatorship (1964 -1985). Content result of postdoctoral research.
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
We’ve hit the midway point of Banned Books Week, and we’re hitting a high point today with our Alex Gino (George) Facebook Live event! Today is packed, with an ALA / Image Comics panel on the Black people in comics, City Lit Theater’s Books on the Chopping Block, events with BBW Coalition members Index on Censorship and PEN America, and so much more! Read on for details…
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom at 1:00 p.m. CDT, September 30, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with acclaimed and award-winning author Alex Gino! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the Banned Books Week Facebook page … Read More
Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet, X-Factor), Johnnie Christmas (Tartatus, Sheltered) and Chuck Brown (Bitter Root) in a conversation on how Black people have been historically portrayed in comics, from the obstacles of integrating Black characters into mainstream and superhero comics to present day works, issues Black creators face working in the comics industry, and the … Read More
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 … Read More
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the resultant global Black Lives Matter protests, it has been clearer than ever before that the voices of some are prioritised to the exclusion of others. As part of Banned Books Week 2020 – an annual celebration of the freedom to read – Index is partnering with … Read More
This event is part of “Free Expression and the Humanities,” a series jointly sponsored by PEN America and the Institute of the Humanities & Global Cultures at the University of Virginia. Participants: Marlene L. Daut, Professor & Associate Director, Carter G. Woodson Institute, UVA Meredith D. Clark, Assistant Professor, Media Studies, UVA Tamika Carey, Associate … Read More
8:00 am – 5:30 pm EDT 244 Frazer Fir Rd., South Windsor, CT
Celebrate Banned Books Week by reading and discussing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time! We’ll also talk about why this is a “banned book.” Meet facilitator Cynde Acanto at The Pond at Barber Hill, 244 Frazer Fir Rd., South Windsor. Bring your mask & chair. Please practice social distancing. This event will … Read More
The Los Angeles Review of Books invites you to join us for an urgent conversation about the ongoing protest movement in Hong Kong, its place on the international stage, and where Hong Kong might go from here. Over the last 18 months, protesters have gathered in world-historic numbers to demonstrate against state violence and what they … Read More
ACLU Montana, Belgrade Community Library, Bozeman Public Library, Country Bookshelf, Friends of MSU Library, and MSU Library partner to host a virtual Banned Book Trivia event.
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
We’re hitting the third day of Banned Books Week running! Don’t miss Portugal. The Man, live with NCAC and the Banned Books Week Coalition; SAGE Publishing’s conversation about COVID-19 and academic censorship, and so much more! Keep reading for details…
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Coalition Against Censorship at 6:00 p.m. EDT, September 29, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with Grammy Award-winning musicians and free expression heroes Portugal. The Man! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the NCAC Facebook … Read More
What does censorship look like in a fully online world? Our experiences dealing with COVID-19 have increased – and in many ways complicated – interactions with open data, internet control, and e-book access. What have we learned about censorship in academia as a result? In this hour-long webinar, taking place during Banned Books Week, panelists … Read More
Librarians Allison Bailund (San Diego State University), Hallie Clawson (University of Washington Information School), and Rotem Anna Diamant (Canada Comics Open Library) in conversation with Brittany Netherton (Darien Public Library) on how the metadata of comics can limit and grant access to comics. From proper crediting of creators to the details of a catalog record … Read More
This event is FREE for all. Please register here. Banned Books Week 2020 (28 September–2 October) takes place four months after George Floyd’s murder led to a global resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and three months after the publication of the Rethinking Diversity in Publishing report, which demonstrated the particular challenges writers of colour … Read More
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
Looking for something to do today? Don’t miss the Banned Books Week Coalition’s conversation with Gene Luen Yang, a look at the Comics Code Authority and rating systems, and a look back at the life of Neal Cassady.
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Council of Teachers of English at 5:00 p.m. CDT on September 28 for a special Banned Books Week Facebook Live event with author Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, Dragon Hoops)! During this hourlong event, Yang will converse with NCTE member leaders and … Read More
Alex Cox (Image Comics) in conversation with a member of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table on the history of the Comics Code Authority and its impact on comics censorship. This discussion will also touch on how current ratings systems and library classifications can impact readership. Register here. ALA Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table and … Read More
Through stories and memorabilia from the Neal Cassady Estate, Jami Cassady will discuss the life of her father and the pivotal role that he played in the Beat Generation, the ’60s Counterculture, and 20th century literature. Register for this virtual presentation at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/regi…/2673011033281638156 You’ll receive a link to easily connect to the discussion from any … Read More
Celebrate on Social Media All Week Long!
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
To kick off the 2020 edition of Banned Books week, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has unveiled the Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books for the past decade. The list features many of the most popular and acclaimed titles and writers in publishing, from Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
For anyone who has seen OIF’s top 10 challenged books lists over the last few years, many of the titles at the top of the list will be familiar. ALA’s new list is topped by the following 20 titles:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Captain Underpants (series) by Dav Pilkey
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Looking for Alaska by John Green
George by Alex Gino
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James
Internet Girls (series) by Lauren Myracle
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings and Jessica Herthel
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Bone (series) by Jeff Smith
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg
Many of the books on OIF’s top 100 list were targeted for LGBTQIA+ content. Alex Gino’s George, award-winning middle grade novel centered on a transgender girl, has appeared on the OIF top 10 list for four years running, topping the 2019 and 2018 lists. Gino will be joining the Banned Books Week Coalition and OIF for a special Facebook Live event on Wednesday, September 30 to talk about censorship and representation in literature. Get the details here.
Read the full list of 100 titles here. Read OIF’s press release about the top 100 list here or below.
Today, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) released the Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books from the past decade. The list’s release launches Banned Books Week, Sept. 27 – Oct. 3, a vibrant week of programming to rally readers to the cause of First Amendment protections and remind them to remain vigilant about continual threats to our freedom to read.
Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” tops the list as the most banned and challenged book from 2010-2019. Alexie joins Toni Morrison, Alex Gino, John Green, and E. L. James as some of the most censored authors. Many of the titles on the list have also been adapted for the screen, including “Captain Underpants,” “The Hunger Games,” “Gossip Girl,” “The Hate U Give,” “The Glass Castle” and “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”
The list includes books challenged for a variety of reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, sexual references, religious viewpoints, content that addresses racism and police brutality, and profanity. Although the reasons differ, the censorship of literature in libraries share a common result: the violation of our First Amendment rights.
OIF has been documenting attempts to ban books in libraries and schools since 1990. OIF compiled this list of the most banned and challenged books from 2010-2019 by reviewing both the public and confidential censorship reports it received.
This list draws attention to literary censorship but only provides a snapshot of book challenges. About 82-97% of challenges remain unreported, estimates OIF, which compared results from several independent studies of third-party FOIA requests documenting school and library book censorship with the information in its database.
This year’s Banned Books Week theme is Censorship is a Dead End. Find Your Freedom to Read. Banned Books Week is largely going virtual, as libraries, bookstores, universities, and organizations are hosting more online programs. The general public is also welcome to participate in a series of virtual activities.
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that draws attention to censorship. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media, with the focus on the following daily topics: Read a banned book (Sunday); Speak out about censorship (Monday); Create something unrestricted (Tuesday); Express the freedom to read in style (Wednesday); Write about your rights (Thursday); Watch, listen and learn from others (Friday); Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year (Saturday).
Readers are encouraged to write, tweet, or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week for the Dear Banned Author letter writing campaign.
Sept. 27, at 2 p.m. CT Video premiere of City Lit Theater reading excerpts of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019
Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. CT Live Q&A about censorship and the importance of representation in literature with Alex Gino, award-winning author of the banned book “George”
Oct. 2, at 6 p.m. CT Discussion during the watch party of “Scary Stories,” a documentary about the banned and challenged series “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz, followed by a live Q&A with director Cody Meirick on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel
To arrange for interviews with library leaders and experts from OIF, contact Macey Morales, deputy director, American Library Association (ALA) Communications and Marketing Office (CMO), at (312) 280-4393 or mmorales@ala.org, or Steve Zalusky, communications specialist, ALA CMO, at (312) 280-1546 or szalusky@ala.org. Banned Books Week artwork is available at ala.org/bbooks/freedownloads.
American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, ALA has been the trusted voice of libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org.
Banned Books Week is finally here! We have a rundown of virtual events and the many, many ways you can participate in the celebration on social media! Censorship is a dead end — find your freedom to read during Banned Books Week, September 27 – October 3!
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Council of Teachers of English at 5:00 p.m. CDT on September 28 for a special Banned Books Week Facebook Live event with author Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, Dragon Hoops)! The event will broadcast live with NCTE on Facebook. More…
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Coalition Against Censorship at 6:00 p.m. EDT, September 29, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with Grammy Award-winning musicians and free expression heroes Portugal. The Man! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the NCAC Facebook page. More…
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom at 1:00 p.m. CDT, September 30, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with acclaimed and award-winning author Alex Gino! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the Banned Books Week Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek/). More…
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. More…
Alex Cox (Image Comics) in conversation with a member of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table on the history of the Comics Code Authority and its impact on comics censorship. This discussion will also touch on how current ratings systems and library classifications can impact readership. Register here. More…
On Sept. 29, SAGE Publishing and OIF will host the free webinar “COVID-19 and Academic Censorship,” which will address e-books, internet control, and open data. The free webinar is limited to the first 1,000 guests. Register here. More…
Librarians Allison Bailund (San Diego State University), Hallie Clawson (University of Washington Information School), and Rotem Anna Diamant (Canada Comics Open Library) in conversation with Brittany Netherton (Darien Public Library) on how the metadata of comics can limit and grant access to comics. From proper crediting of creators to the details of a catalog record – comics metadata creates access. Moderated by Brittany Netherton, Head of Knowledge and Learning Services, Darien Library. Register here. More…
Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet, X-Factor), Johnnie Christmas (Tartatus, Sheltered) and Chuck Brown (Bitter Root) in a conversation on how Black people have been historically portrayed in comics, from the obstacles of integrating Black characters into mainstream and superhero comics to present day works, issues Black creators face working in the comics industry, and the importance of non-white characters existing on the comics page. Moderated by Tamela Chambers, Librarian and Public Library Chair the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA). Register here. More…
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. More…
It’s not just libraries that have banned comics – sometimes it’s the comics industry itself. Chloe Ramos (Image Comics) and other panelists in conversation with Dan Wood (Escondido Public Library) will discuss how harassment serves as a form of censorship within the industry by creating unsafe and unwelcoming environments, and how awareness of these issues is important for librarians to understand. Register here. More…
Celebrate your freedom to read by joining us for a virtual presentation of dramatic readings by City Lit Theater Company featuring the American Library Association’s list of top 10 most challenged books of 2019. City Lit has performed this annual event since 2006 and is excited to showcase these books and to engage with you about censorship and the freedom to read during a Q&A session following the readings. More…
October 2
On Oct. 2, OIF will host a national watch party of “Scary Stories,” a documentary about the banned and challenged series “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” by Alvin Schwartz, followed by a Q&A with director Cody Meirick on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel. Libraries and readers are invited to stream the documentary on Tubi or Amazon Prime at 6 p.m. CST and join the conversation on Twitter using #CensorshipisScary or on the Facebook event page. Libraries are invited to host their own watch parties as a Banned Books Week program; more details are available at ala.org/bbooks/scarystories.
Charles Soule (Undiscovered Country, Daredevil) in conversation with Matthew Noe (GNCRT President-Elect) on why comics so often wind up on annual most challenged books lists, what comics are most often challenged, and what you can do to overcome negative opinions of comics. Register here. More…
Celebrate on Social Media
Customizable Downloads
Make your own Banned Books Week assets for social media! We have several different formats of our main banner that you can add your own information to, or you can share your favorite banned books and trivia with our customizable digital shelftalkers! Check out the entire set or downloadables here. More…
#BannedBooksWeek in Action
Each day of Banned Books Week, OIF will promote a different action that spotlights literary activism. Titled #BannedBooksWeek in Action, readers are encouraged to share their activities on social media with the hashtag, focusing on the following daily topics:
Sunday: Read a banned book
Monday: Speak out about censorship
Tuesday: Create something unrestricted
Wednesday: Express the freedom to read in style
Thursday: Write about your rights
Friday: Watch, listen, and learn from others
Saturday: Thank those who defend the freedom to read every day of the year
Dear Banned Author
The annual Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign encourages readers to write, tweet or email their favorite banned/challenged author during Banned Books Week. Postcards, author addresses and Twitter handles, and tips for hosting virtual programs can be found at ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. Examples of letters and programs are published on the Intellectual Freedom Blog. Those who use #DearBannedAuthor on Twitter will be entered into a grand prize drawing of Banned Books Week merchandise. Details and Official Rules are listed on the Dear Banned Author webpage.
Stand for the Banned Read-Out
Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs of banned and challenged books. The Stand for the Banned Read-Outinvites readers to submit brief videos of themselves reading from a banned book or discussing censorship. Submitted videos may be added to the Banned Books Week YouTube channel.
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Coalition Against Censorship at 6:00 p.m. EDT, September 29, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with Grammy Award-winning musicians and free expression heroes Portugal. The Man! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the NCAC Facebook page.
In early 2020, Portugal. The Man joined the protest when the Matanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Borough School Board, which oversees schools in the band’s hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, voted to remove five classic novels — I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien — from the 11th grade reading list. Through their charitable non-profit, PTM Foundation, Portugal. The Man helped provide thousands of copies of the banned books to students in the district.
During this hourlong livestream, we’ll talk with Portugal. The Man about why they took action, the role of communities in fighting censorship, and the importance of access to information. We’ll close with a short Q&A. The event will be moderated by Nora Pelizzari (Director of Communications, NCAC) and Betsy Gomez (Coordinator, Banned Books Week Coalition).
Portugal. The Man took 2017 by the horns after a considerably long gap between records. They spent years working on an album called Gloomin + Doomin before later developing what would become known as their latest studio album WOODSTOCK. Fate struck lead singer John Gourley twice. First, John got some parental tough love from his old man. “What’s taking so long to finish the album?” John’s dad asked. “Isn’t that what bands do? Write songs and then put them out?” The whole thing got John thinking about why the band seemed to be stuck on a musical elliptical machine from hell and more importantly, about how to get off of it. Second, John found his dad’s ticket stub from the original 1969 Woodstock music festival, which ultimately knocked something loose in his head. He realized that, in the same tradition of bands from that era, Portugal. The Man needed to speak out about the world crumbling around them.
With these two ideas converging, the band made a seemingly bat-shit-crazy decision: they took all of the work they had done for the three years prior and threw it out. The band went back to the studio — working with John Hill, Danger Mouse and longtime collaborator Casey Bates. In this new-found creative territory, the album that became WOODSTOCK rolled out naturally from there. Fast forward to present day and it was impossible to escape the album’s first single, “Feel It Still,” which dominated the charts and radio airwaves in 2017. The 4X Platinum Certified hit reigned at #1 at nearly all radio formats, including Top 40, as well as Alternative, where the song held the chart’s top spot for a mind-blowing 20 weeks, breaking the record for most weeks at #1. Yes, you read that right. Five guys from Wasilla, Alaska, who have played nearly 1,500 shows in their career, broke Alternative radio records and had a #1 song at Pop radio. Billboard Magazine even went as far as to call the song “the unexpected rock crossover hit of 2017,” while Rolling Stone listed it as “one of the best songs of 2017.” AND THEN…the band kicked off 2018 by winning a GRAMMY Award for “Feel It Still.”
PTM Foundation is focused on building community resilience, empathy, and awareness through music, stories, art, education and connectivity. They aim to convene and organize partnerships and projects informed by community need, then mobilize Portugal. The Man’s listeners and supporters around that shared vision.
While their advocacy, philanthropy, and community engagement work is primarily centered around universal issues related to human rights, community health, and the environment, this organization puts a specific focus on highlighting the stories of Indigenous Peoples, and they are committed to helping bring these sacred voices — often the most informed, yet silenced among us — to the forefront.
The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) promotes freedom of thought, inquiry, and expression and opposes censorship in all its forms. Since 1974, NCAC has engaged in direct advocacy, education, research and analysis to support the principles of the First Amendment. A coalition of over 50 national non-profits, NCAC’s alliance includes literary, artistic, education, and civil liberties groups. NCAC is national in scope, but often local in their approach, engaging with a nationwide network of advocates and supporting local activism. NCAC works with community members to resolve censorship controversies without the need for litigation.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and the National Council of Teachers of English at 5:00 p.m. CDT on September 28 for a special Banned Books Week Facebook Live event with author Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese, Boxers & Saints, Dragon Hoops)!
During this hourlong event, Yang will converse with NCTE member leaders Henry “Cody” Miller and Jung Kim, as well as moderators Lisa Fink (NCTE) and Karen Evans (Education Coordinator, CBLDF) about the censorship of his work, examine the importance of diverse literature, and discuss the use of comics in classrooms. You’ll have a chance to ask your questions during a short Q&A. (We will try to get to as many of your questions as we can!)
Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress’ fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocated for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. American Born Chinese, his first graphic novel from First Second Books, was a National Book Award finalist, as well as the winner of the Printz Award and an Eisner Award. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the L.A. Times Book Prize and was also a National Book Award Finalist. His other works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), New Super-Man (with various artists), Superman Smashes the Klan (with Gurihiru), the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (with Gurihiru), and Dragon Hoops. In 2016, Yang was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
Henry “Cody” Miller is an assistant professor of English education at SUNY Brockport. He is a former high school English teacher. Cody currently acts as the chair of the National Council of Teachers of English LGBTQ advisory board.
About Jung Kim
Jung Kim, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Literacy, mother, ultrarunner, 1.5 generation Korean American, and #AsAmAF. A former high school English teacher and literacy coach, she writes about Asian American teachers, graphic novels, and equity. Her second co-authored book on teaching with graphic novels, Using Graphic Novels in the English Language Arts Classroom, is out from Bloomsbury Press on October 1.
About NCTE
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) supports teachers and their students in classrooms, on college campuses, and in online learning environments. For more than 100 years, NCTE has worked with its members to offer journals, publications, and resources; to further the voice and expertise of educators as advocates for their students at the local and federal levels; and to share lesson ideas, research, and teaching strategies through its Annual Convention and other professional learning events.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition and ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom at 1:00 p.m. CDT, September 30, for an exclusive Facebook Live event with acclaimed and award-winning author Alex Gino! The event celebrates Banned Books Week, which takes place September 23 – October 3, 2020, and will broadcast live on the Banned Books Week Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek/).
Gino’s award-winning middle grade novel George led ALA OIF’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books lists for 2019 and 2018, and it also appeared on the lists for 2017 and 2016. The book has been challenged, banned, restricted, and hidden to avoid controversy, for LGBTQIA+ content and a transgender character, for sexual references, and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint.
Over the course of the hour, we’ll converse about the censorship of Gino’s work and LGBTQIA+ materials and events, examine the importance of identity and representation in literature, and give you a chance to ask your questions during a short Q&A. The event will be moderated by Peter Coyl (he / him; Director, Montclair Public Library) and Betsy Gomez (she / her; Coordinator, Banned Books Week Coalition).
Alex Gino is author of middle grade novels Rick,You Don’t Know Everything, Jilly P! and the Stonewall Award-winning George. They love glitter, ice cream, gardening, awe-ful puns, and stories that reflect the diversity and complexity of being alive. Born and raised on Staten Island, NY, they now enjoy living in Oakland, CA.
4 starred reviews: Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal
Winner of: Lambda Literary Award, Stonewall Award (American Library Association), Children’s Choice Book Awards Debut Author, Juvenile California Book Award
BE WHO YOU ARE. When people look at George, they see a boy. But George knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part … because she’s a boy. With the help of her best friend Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte – but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all. GEORGE is a candid, genuine, and heartwarming middle grade about a transgender girl who is, to use Charlotte’s word, R-A-D-I-A-N-T!
Rick (Scholastic, 2020)
4 starred reviews: Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal
The story of a kid named Rick who needs to explore his own identity apart from his jerk of a best friend.
Rick’s never questioned much. He’s gone along with his best friend Jeff even when Jeff’s acted like a bully and a jerk. He’s let his father joke with him about which hot girls he might want to date even though that kind of talk always makes him uncomfortable. And he hasn’t given his own identity much thought, because everyone else around him seemed to have figured it out.
But now Rick’s gotten to middle school, and new doors are opening. One of them leads to the school’s Rainbow Spectrum club, where kids of many genders and identities congregate, including Melissa, the girl who sits in front of Rick in class and seems to have her life together. Rick wants his own life to be that … understood. Even if it means breaking some old friendships and making some new ones.
As they did in their groundbreaking novel George, in Rick, award-winning author Alex Gino explores what it means to search for your own place in the world … and all the steps you and the people around you need to take in order to get where you need to be.
About ALA OIF
Established December 1, 1967, the Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. The goal of the office is to educate librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
Chicago’s City Lit Theater is teaming with the American Library Association for Books on the Chopping Block, a series of virtual events featuring dramatic readings from banned and challenged books. Keep reading to check out the trailer for the series!
Three virtual events are scheduled so far:
American Library Association Facebook Live Event: Sunday, September 27, at 2:00 p.m. CDT
DePaul University: Wednesday, September 30, at 1:00 p.m. CDT
Mount Prospect Library: Tuesday, October 1, at 7:00 p.m. CDT (pre-recorded)
There’s still time to take part in the series, so if you are a library and would like to host an online performance, please contact City Lit’s Katy Nielsen at knielsen@citylit.org
City Lit and ALA have partnered on this celebration of Banned Books Week since 2006, with special events, libraries, and bookstores in and around Chicago in previous years. “Our focus is literate theatre, so we are naturally concerned by attempts to keep books away from people,” say City Lit Artistic Director Terry McCabe. “We are privileged to continue our alliance with the ALA in this important work.”
Find out more about Books on the Chopping Block here.
In turbulent times, books are tools that help people navigate the world around them. Intellectual freedom and access to information uplift people in crisis and during more peaceful times, so the Banned Books Week Coalition invites you to champion the right to read during Banned Books Week, September 27 – October 3, 2020!
Join the Banned Books Week Coalition at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 22, for a special Facebook Live conversation about the 2020 theme and censorship with Laurie Halse Anderson (author of the frequently challenged novel Speak) and an exclusive statement from David Levithan (author of the challenged novel Two Boys Kissing)! https://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweek/
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has helped people recognize and navigate censorship, and the battle for free expression is unending. Reading brings people together, but censorship drives us apart. The theme of this year’s event, “Censorship Is a Dead End,” is a reminder that we need to fight censorship to “Find Our Freedom to Read.” This year’s celebration embraces a maze motif, an attainable and customizable idea that offers publishers, booksellers, librarians, educators, journalists, and others an opportunity to engage with their communities in a variety of ways, from passive programing to big events.
In recognition of National Library Week (April 19 – 25, 2020), the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom released their list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019. This list highlights the ways in which curtailing reading materials makes the world smaller. In 2019, ALA tracked nearly 377 attempts to censor library, school, and university materials and services, encompassing 566 books that were challenged or banned. The list includes books that can help readers, especially young people, understand and navigate tough situations, such as George by Alex Gino; Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out by Susan Kuklin; Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth; I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, and Shelagh McNicholas; and Drama by Raina Telgemeier.
“Books can help young people and readers of all ages explore worlds, lives, and experiences beyond their own,” says Nora Pelizzari, director of communications for the National Coalition Against Censorship. “This exploration is crucial in learning to think critically and independently and to navigate ourselves through life. Limiting access to ideas hurts everyone, and particularly students. Banned Books Week gives us a chance to champion the diverse ideas books let us explore.”
Libraries and schools aren’t the only institutions impacted by censorship, and Banned Books Week is an opportunity for many to engage their communities in a conversation about attempts to stifle creativity.
According to David Grogan, director for American Booksellers for Free Expression, the bookseller’s voice for free expression, “Banned Books Week is one of the most important events of the year for independent booksellers. It provides booksellers a crucial opportunity to promote conversations about controversial books. Customers are often surprised to hear that book banning still continues to this day, and Banned Books Week is a tremendous way to highlight the importance of the freedom to read.”
Find your freedom to read during Banned Books Week, September 27 – October 3, 2020! The Banned Books Week Coalition is here to support your celebration of reading, with programming ideas, promotional materials, and other resources! Visit https://bannedbooksweek.org/ or follow @BannedBooksWeek on Twitter to get the latest Banned Books Week and censorship news.
The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
It’s the last day of Banned Books Week, and we’re blowing it out in style! Lots of Drag Queen Story Hour, including Coalition-sponsored events in San Francisco and New York City; a look at the censorship faced by international cartoonists; George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four at 70; and so much more!
Dear Banned Author is a letter-writing campaign hosted by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. During Banned Books Week (September 22-28), readers are encouraged to write (or tweet) to banned or challenged authors, sharing what their stories meant to them. The goal of the campaign is to not only raise awareness of books that are threatened with censorship and support authors, but also encourage thoughtful discussions about the power of words and how essential it is to have access to a variety of viewpoints in libraries. Authors also have shared fan letters as support when there’s a public challenge to their books.
Speaking out for banned and challenged books is vital in the fight against censorship. This webpage includes resources and ideas on participating in the Dear Banned Author letter-writing campaign and hosting letter-writing programs.
Get Involved
Write a letter to a banned and challenged author, telling them about a favorite title or how their words have impacted you. Use these Banned & Challenged Author Addresses.
Host a letter-writing program at your library or school, bringing writing supplies and a list of author addresses. Use these Tips for Hosting Programs.
Reach out to a favorite banned or challenged author by tagging them on Twitter and sharing your story using #DearBannedAuthor. Use these Tips for Tweeting.
Share your #DearBannedAuthor story on Twitter for a chance to win Banned Books Week merchandise! Learn more about the Dear Banned Author Drawing and read the Official Rules before entering.
ENDS TODAY: #BannedTogether with Penguin Random House
This Banned Books Week, Penguin Random House is thrilled to #BannedTogether.
Read to fight censorship! For every Penguin Random House book you purchase during Banned Books week, PRH will donate $1 to the American Booksellers Association for Freedom of Expression Fund (up to $20,000 donation).
To participate, simply purchase a PRH book during Banned Books Week (9/22-9/28) and log your purchase into your Reader Rewards account. Not a member yet? Join free here.
While the book must be purchased from 9/22-9/28 to count towards a donation, you have until 9/30 to log your purchase. If your purchase is not eligible for Reader Rewards, we will still count it towards the donation. Email readerrewards@penguinrandomhouse.com and we’ll take care of you.
Wigtown Book Festival, Wigtown, Scotland, United Kingdom • 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm BST
It is 70 years since George Orwell published 1984. So how do our political and personal landscapes today compare to Orwell’s dystopia? And can the book shed light on today’s data-driven security and surveillance society? Our panel: Dorian Lynskey, author of The Ministry of Truth, an acclaimed new biography of 1984; award-winning foreign affairs writer David Pratt; and Julia Farrington of Index on Censorship. Chaired by Magnus Linklater.This is a Banned Books Week event in partnership with the British Library, Booksellers Association, English PEN, Free Word, Hachette UK, Index on Censorship, Islington Council’s Library and Heritage Service, Libraries Connected, The Publishers Association and The Royal Society of Literature. Find out more »
Bookmans Mesa, Messa, AZ • 10:00 am – 11:00 am MST
Something banned this way comes! Join Drag Story Hour- Arizona at Bookmans Mesa for a story hour hosted by Felicia Minor and Freddy Prinze Charming. Let’s love all banned books and celebrate the growth of Drag Queen Story Hours in the face of challenge. Find out more »
Bezazian Branch, Chicago, IL • 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CDT
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Asia Society, New York, NY • 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Xiaoze Xie will discuss his research into the history of censorship in China that inspired the current exhibition Xiaoze Xie: Objects of Evidence. The artist will be joined by noted experts on the subject of censorship Martin Heijdra, Princeton University, and James Tager, PEN America in a panel led by Michelle Yun, Asia Society Museum Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.
The program is organized in conjunction with Banned Books Week, September 22-28, 2019.
The program is free and registration is required. Register here. Find out more »
Over the years CRNI has become a fixture at the annual conventions of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC), which this year takes place as part of the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival (CXC). We are enormously grateful to the organizers from both events for an opportunity to highlight issues facing cartoonists around the world with a panel discussion open to the public. Our panelists are:
Terry Anderson (UK), Deputy Executive Director, CRNI
Charles Brownstein (USA), Executive Director, CBLDF
Ritu Gairola Khanduri (India/USA), Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology, University of Texas and Board of Directors, CRNI
St John’s Lutheran Church, Brooklyn, NY • 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) is just what it sounds like—drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. DQSH captures the imagination and play of the gender fluidity of childhood and gives kids glamorous, positive, and unabashedly queer role models. In spaces like this, kids are able to see people who defy rigid gender restrictions and imagine a world where people can present as they wish, where dress up is real. Find out more »
The Bindery, San Francisco, CA • 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PDT
What better way to celebrate Banned Books Week than with Drag Queen Story Hour! The Banned Books Week Coalition presents this special event on September 28 at The Bindery (1727 Haight Street, San Francisco), The Booksmith’s multi-purpose events space. Join some of San Francisco’s most glamorous drag queens as they read challenged and banned picture books to entertain children of all ages! Doors will open at 2:00 p.m., with the reading to start at 2:30 p.m.The event is free and open to the public, but priority will be given to parents with their children. Find out more »
Join Deep Vellum Publishing and Books on Saturday, September 28 to celebrate banned and challenged books from around the world. This event will feature literary karaoke of banned titles, including The Poetry Project’s BREAK OUT reading by an incarcerated writer, a screening of Phoneme Media’s short film Kilómetro Cero about the persecuted Equitorial Guinean writer Marcelo Ensemo Nsang, literary crafts, and a giveaway featuring challenged books from Deep Vellum and Phoneme’s catalog. Find out more »
Join BookBar on Saturday, September 28 to celebrate banned and challenged books from around the world. In honor of Banned Books Week 2019, the event will feature an open mic for readings of banned books. Bring your favorite banned book or pick one up and read a 2-3 minute passage! This event is free and open to the public. Find out more »
Emoji Nightmare and Nikki Champagne, two of Vermont’s favorite drag queens, are bringing Drag Queen Story Hour to Milton! The queens will be sure to delight and captivate audience members of all ages as they share stories focused on individuality, activism, gender, creativity, expression, and social responsibility.
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. PDT, Eagle Rock Branch – Los Angeles Public Library (5027 Caspar Ave., Los Angeles, California)
Presented in Partnership with Home Sweet Huddy and Compass, a real estate team!
DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR is exactly what it sounds like! Drag Queens reading stories to kids in Libraries, Schools and Bookstores the like! Bring your kids to a magical hour dedicated to literacy, love, acceptance and joy! All the magic of drag with the fun of storytime! Come early to make some crafts!!! With PICKLE!
1:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT, Hartford Public Library (500 Main St, Hartford, Connecticut)
Hartford Public Library presents our very first Drag Queen Story Hour! Drag Queen Story Hour is just what it sounds like—drag queens reading stories to children in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Its goal? To inspire a love of reading, while teaching deeper lessons on diversity, self-love and an appreciation of others. This fun all-ages event features local drag queens Giganta Smalls and Robin Fierce reading children’s stories and a crown-making craft at our very own library.
We will host two story hour sessions. Guests are welcome to come to either story hour, or stay for both!
Storytime Schedule:
1:00 p.m. — Story Hour with Giganta Smalls, followed by a craft
2:30 p.m. — Story Hour with Robin Fierce, followed by a craft in the Center for Contemporary Culture
Adding a little pizzazz and sparkle to afternoon’s favorite past time…STORY TIME! Join Mrs. Yuka Layme for Drag Queen Story Time, the children’s storytelling event that has been sweeping the nation! The event is brought to you in partnership with Kearney Pride Walk/Festival 2019 & PFLAG Kearney. Our FIRST is Kearney Nebraska! Readings of your favorite (and maybe some new) stories by: Lucy Roxia
Keep your eye on an update to our exact location at Pride.
Woodford Co. Library, Main Branch, Versailles, KY • 12:00 pm – 3:00 pmEDT
12:00 – 3:00 p.m. (Adults and teens) Drop in for our Banned Book Week finale to learn more about the history of literary censorship, banned books-themed trivia, a “mugshot” photo booth, book-inspired refreshments and more! Find out more »
Firestorm Books & Coffee is partnering with Asheville Prison Books (APB) to celebrate Banned Books Week with a book drive for incarcerated readers. Drop by the co-operative on Saturday afternoon and buy a banned or challenged book to donate to APB and Firestorm will match your gift with a second donated book! Find out more »
One More Page Books, Arlington, VA • 5:00 pm – 6:00 pmEDT
Every year, we’re excited to join book lovers from across Virginia to celebrate the freedom to read and call attention to the wealth of creativity that is stifled when books are forbidden from library shelves. This year’s Banned Books Week is from Sept. 22 – Sept. 28, but the fight for intellectual freedom takes place every day in every county in Virgina. To keep up the spirit of Banned Books Week, join us at One More Page Books. Find out more »
Books aren’t the only thing we celebrate during Banned Books Week. We also celebrate plays and musicals that have drawn the ire of censors. Let’s take a look at a few of the performances that have been attacked…
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
by William Finn and Rachel Sheinken
A performance of The 25thAnnual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Hyattsville Middle School in Maryland was cancelled about a week before it was supposed to start, ostensibly because teachers in the school raised concerns about the use of profanity, sexual innuendo, and racial humor in the play. Students were performing a slightly modified version of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, in which the song “My Unfortunate Erection,” has been changed “My Unfortunate Distraction,” and school officials contended that licensing agency MTI wouldn’t allow further changes to remove offensive language. But the cancellation may not be as clear-cut as officials claim. Reporters who contacted MTI were informed that the agency had allowed such changes in the past. Further, there were rumors that the play had actually been cancelled because one of the characters has two dads. After the cancellation gained national attention, the school relented and allowed the performance to go on.
American Idiot
by Michael Mayer and Billie Joe Armstrong
In early 2016, the Enfield, Connecticut, high school cancelled a production of the rock opera American Idiot. The Lamplighters student drama club was well into the planning stages had even held preliminary auditions, and faculty advisor Nate Ferreira was also in the process of editing the original (with the permission of MTI) to produce a “modified script and production notes [which] maintain the integrity of the show, while removing profanity and the more adult scenarios in the original Broadway production.” Unfortunately, some members of Lamplighters would be barred by their parents from participating in the production. Together with EHS principal Andrew Longey, Ferreira made the decision to call off “a show that most of the kids were extremely excited about” so that everyone who wanted to participate would be able to do so. The group opted to perform Little Shop of Horrors instead.
And Then Came Tango
Arguing it was “the best thing for our community”, the Sierra Foothill Charter School near Fresno, California, cancelled a showing of the play And Then Came Tango. Based on the story of a pair of male penguins that raise a chick (which also inspired a bestselling and frequently challenged children’s picture book), the play put on by Fresno State’s Theatre for Young Adults was initially shown at the anti-censorship conference Outlawed: The Naked Truth About Censored Literature for Young People. The school board voted unanimously to cancel the play after parent protest.
Cabaret
by John Kander and Fred Ebb
Parents at a Catholic school in the San Fernando Valley campaigned against the performance of the musical Cabaret, calling the award-winning musical “vulgar” and claiming it “would subject these children to performing acts of grave indecency, immodesty, immorality, and homosexual behavior on the stage.” The school principal stood behind the performance, arguing it would benefit students.
Calendar Girls
by Tim Firth
In May 2019, a performance of Calendar Girls at the Carrollton Center for the Arts in Carrollton, Texas, was cancelled due to the “implication of nudity.” “This is a conservative town, a conservative mayor and council, and we are not comfortable having our name on this production,” City Manager Time Grizzard told WLBB radio. “I understand that it is not in any way pornographic. I know there’s no actual nudity involved. It just has the appearance of that sort of thing. It just sends a message that we are not comfortable having our name on.” City officials did say they would allow the performance to happen independently, but it would have required finding sponsors and paying to use the theater space. While that funding was ostensibly available, the group behind the performance elected not to do it in fear that they might upset city officials and put future productions at risk. Carrollton officials have a track record of canceling plays they think racy; they had previously cancelled a performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 2011.
Legally Blonde
by Heather Hach, Nell Benjamine, Laurence O’Keefe
An Ohio high school fired Sonja Hansen after she directed and choreographed a well-attended production of the musical Legally Blonde. Students were permitted to finish the run of Legally Blonde, which reportedly received standing ovations, but Hansen was reprimanded by the administration for allegedly “going against the school’s code of conduct.” Principal Christopher Kloesz allegedly cited “bootie-bounce dance moves” and the use of the word “skank” as reasons for the punishment.
The Producers
by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan
A high school in Orangetown, New York, decided to remove all swastikas from a performance of The Producers, a satirical musical about Adolf Hitler. A small group of parents had complained about the offensive imagery, and Superintendent Bob Pritchard responded by requiring the removal of all swastikas from the set. “There is no context in a public high school where a swastika is appropriate,” he said. “The optic, the visual, to me was very disturbing. I considered it to be an obscenity like any obscenity.”
Rent
by Jonathan Larson
A 2014 production of Rent was cancelled by the first-year principal at Trumbull High School in Trumbull Connecticut after complaints over “sensitive” and “controversial” content. The young thespians were performing a version of the Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that had been adapted for younger performers with the permission of the Larson estate and did not include the song “Contact,” which describes sexual activity. Students themselves pushed back against the cancellation to no avail.
Spamalot
by Eric Idle and John Du Prez
In 2014, the South Williamsport Area School District in Pennsylvania cancelled a planned production of Monty Python’s Spamalot due to “homosexual themes,” and then fired drama teacher Dawn Burch in apparent retaliation for speaking out in protest.
Sweeney Todd
by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler
A Timberline Regional High School production of Sweeney Toddwas cancelled in 2014 after administrators deemed parts of the play unacceptable. “We were uncomfortable with the script and agreed that this was not the right time or place for the performance,” said Superintendent Earl Metzler. The censorship went beyond the play. Students made a Facebook page in protest, but Metzler said much of what was written on it was “beyond disrespectful and rude, as well as illegal” and advised the creator to delete the page.
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare’s play about a young woman who disguises herself as a man was banned in a New Hampshire school system due to a rule that called for the “prohibition of alternative lifestyle instruction.”
The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund maintains The Defender, a database of dramatic works that have been challenged or censored in the United States. Find more banned plays and musicals here.
With just one day left of Banned Books Week, there’s no slowing down! We have webinars with Lilah Sturges (Lumberjanes) and David F. Walker (Bitter Root), trivia at the Kurt Vonnegut Library, screenprinting, cosplay, and so much more!
Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week event page at https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/, where you can find events happening all over the world! If you’re hosting an event, let us know about it by completing this form — we’ll add it to the map!
Don’t forget to tag @BannedBooksWeek and #BannedBooksWeek on Twitter and Facebook when you share your Banned Books Week adventures!
Identity censorship is the most frequent form of intellectual freedom challenge in today’s environment. From moral panic about Drag Queen Story Hour to frequent challenges to LGBTQ+ comics, books, and authors, this disturbing trend is gaining traction. CBLDF engages a panel of experts to help you identify and intelligently address this growing problem. In the past year, CBLDF has participated in defending challenges and bans of books solely because they contain LGBTQ+ characters, curriculum rejected because it focused on LGBTQ+ titles, and community programs canceled solely because program participants identify as LGBTQ+. In this webinar, we will speak with individuals who’ve been on the front lines of this issue to identify the contours of the problem and discuss strategies for managing it. In addition to receiving CBLDF’s “Fighting Identity Censorship Toolkit,” all webinar participants are invited to share their own stories and receive face-to-face expert advice on managing identity censorship issues. Find out more »
David F. Walker (BITTER ROOT) in conversation with Ray James (IFRT Coalition Building Committee) about how privatization impacts access, particularly as it relates to prison libraries, as (most) US prisons are privatized and how this impacts inmate access to information. This discussion will also touch on how gatekeeping and biases (of librarians, prison staff, the public) affect access for this vulnerable population. Brought to you by ALA’s Graphic Novel Comics Round Table and Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and Image Comics. Find out more »
DePaul University Library, Chicago, IL • 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CDT
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Kurt Vonnegut Museum, Indianapolis, IN • 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm EDT
Win prizes by showing your freedom of speech and banned book knowledge at Trivia Night with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)! Find out more »
Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Dallas, TX • 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm CDT
Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret is a celebration of songs and scenes from shows that have been censored or challenged on America’s stages, created to raise awareness around issues of censorship and free expression in the theatre. The Dallas regional production will feature selections from Cabaret, Chicago, and Angels in America, among other notable works, with a libretto by DLDF president John Weidman (Assassins) and J.T. Rogers (Oslo, Blood and Gifts).
Banned Together, which takes place annually during PEN America’s Banned Books Week, is open to the public and free to attend. Reservations are encouraged, as we have limited capacity and this helps us anticipate audience size and plan accordingly. However, we may be able to accommodate those without an Eventbrite reservation on a first come, first served basis, pending remaining capacity and availability on the day. Find out more »
Central Washington University SURC, Ellensburg, WA • 11:00 am – 1:00 pmPDT
Free! Celebrate your freedom to read during Banned Books week. Join in our Banned Books “read-out” and stop by our table at the SURC Pit to pick up information, bookmarks and buttons, provided by Brooks Library. Find out more »
Come screenprint your own tee or patch to spotlight Banned Books Week! We’ll have fabric for patches, but BYOT (bring your own tee)! Ages 11+ Find out more »
Come and join us for an evening of trivia, as we celebrate Freedom to Read Week! Test your knowledge of the most frequently challenged books. Then decorate a tote bag with your favorite quote from a banned book. Support Freedom of Expression and fashionably rock your reading uncensored! Find out more »
Mancos Public Library, Mancos, CO • 6:00 pm – 8:00 pmMDT
Get creative and join us at the Mancos Public Library for a Banned Books Cosplay Event! Dress up as your favorite character from a banned or challenged book! Read aloud from your favorite banned or challenged book! Discuss your personal feelings about the books you read and why you feel it is important to be heard! Find out more »
The Alwun House, Phoenix, AZ • 7:00 pm – 9:00 pmCDT
The Arizona LGBT+ History Project will be hosting it’s 2nd annual Banned Books Reading on Friday, September 27, at the Alwun House 1204 E Roosevelt St, Phoenix, AZ 85006 This will be a very special Adult story time that focuses on the problem of book censorship, in conjunction with events like this happening across the country. Come participate in an evening of laughter while exercising our right of liberty and emancipation! Find out more »
Comics are one of the most commonly attacked types of books, with challenges and bans happening every year. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and several other members of the Banned Books Week Coalition defend comics from censorship. Here’s a look at some of the titles they’ve worked to protect.
Find out more about these challenged and banned comics and other censored titles at http://cbldf.org
Assassination Classroom
Yusei Matsui (VIZ Media, 2014)
In early 2019, Assassination Classroom was pulled from a school library on Staten Island over parental objections to its title and themes. The book’s removal runs contrary to New York City Department of Education guidelines. The manga is currently pending review by an evaluation committee and is unavailable to readers who may find insight and enjoyment in its pages.
The series follows a group of misfit students, who pledge to stop an alien supervillain disguised as a teacher from destroying the world. The series uses comedy and superhero tropes to emphasize the values of camaraderie among students and the impact that good teaching can have in the lives of pupils others have discarded.
Drama
Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic / Graphix, 2012)
Raina Telgemeier’s Drama, a graphic novel about the joys and tribulations of a middle school drama troupe, received universal critical praise upon its publication in 2012. Although most readers found Drama to be just as endearing and authentic as Telgemeier’s previous books, Smile and Sisters, a small but vocal minority have objected to the inclusion of two gay characters, one of whom shares a chaste on-stage kiss with another boy. The book was listed among the country’s top ten most banned books in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.
Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic examines the author’s childhood, particularly her relationship with her closeted gay father Bruce. As Alison grows older and realizes that she is a lesbian, she and Bruce are both forced to confront how his repression may have affected her own self-image and the way that she dealt with her sexuality. The book has been included on numerous best-of lists and earned the National Book Critics Circle Award and awards such as the Eisner, the Stonewall Book Award, the GLAAD Media Award, and the Lambda Literary Award (lesbian memoir and biography). It was also adapted into a Tony Award–winning musical. Despite these extraordinary accolades, Fun Home has been singled out for bans and challenges in colleges, public libraries, and high schools. It was also targeted by the South Carolina legislature and in a New Jersey lawsuit.
The Graveyard Book
Adapted by P. Craig Russell from the novel by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins, 2014)
In 2015, CBLDF successfully defended the graphic novel edition of The Graveyard Book from a middle school library ban for violent imagery. P. Craig Russell’s graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Newbery Medal-winning prose novel tells the story of Nobody Owens, a boy raised by ghosts, and his adventures through the graveyard where he lives. Publishers Weekly called it “a vastly entertaining adaptation… It’s a treasure worth having even if the novel is already on the shelf.”
Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass
By Lilah Sturges and polterink (BOOM! Studios, 2018)
In summer 2019, an event with author and transgender rights advocate Lilah Sturges was canceled just two hours before she was scheduled to talk about Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass at Leander Public Library in Texas. The city gave inadequate reasons, claiming temporary changes to library event policies, as well as the lack of a previously undiscussed background check. CBLDF led an immediate effort to reverse the cancelation, which a local news outlet confirmed is likely an act of discrimination against Sturges and the LGBTQ+ community. This is the second recent incident of identity censorship in Leander, following a June ban on Drag Queen Story Hour.
Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi (Pantheon, 2007)
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up during the Iranian Revolution, has received international acclaim since its initial publication in French. Although it was certainly controversial in the Middle East, there were no publicly reported challenges or bans of the book in U.S. schools or libraries until March 2013, when Chicago Public Schools administrators abruptly pulled it from some classrooms.
A cascade of bans and challenges followed, landing the book in the second spot on the American Library Association’s Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for 2014. In 2015, a 20-year-old college student and her parents said the book should be “eradicated from the system” at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California. CBLDF stood up for the book numerous times in these cases and others, leading to its successful retention in most.
Stuck in the Middle
Edited by Ariel Schrag (Viking Juvenile, 2007)
Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Stories from an UNPLEASANT Age is an anthology of stories about the challenges of early teen years, with contributions from Daniel Clowes, Dash Shaw, Gabrielle Bell, Lauren Weinstein, and more. Praised by Booklist, The New York Times, and Publishers Weekly, it was also selected for New York Public Library’s “Books for the Teen Age” list in 2008. The book has been banned in multiple communities. Most recently, an Oklahoma middle school pulled the book from library shelves after one parent called it “trash” and complained of vulgarities, sexual references, and drug use in some of the stories, without noting that those references are there to address real-life problems facing teens.
Sword Art Online: Aincrad
Reki Kawahara and abec (Yen Press, 2017)
CBLDF took the lead in defending the manga Sword Art Online: Aincrad after it was challenged at a middle school in Jerome, Idaho, where the book was ultimately retained. The first volume in a manga series by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec was challenged by a Jerome Middle School teacher on behalf of a student who found both language and drawings in the book to be “inappropriate.” The images that perturbed the student reportedly involved “a female character wearing underwear and sharing a bed with a male character.”
This One Summer
Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (First Second, 2014)
This One Summer broke boundaries by becoming the first graphic novel to make the short list for the Caldecott Medal. Unfortunately, the Caldecott honor yielded an unforeseen negative outcome: increased calls to ban the book.
This One Summer addresses the challenges of adolescence in a sensitive and nuanced storyline that has achieved wide acclaim. It was named the most challenged book of 2016, the seventh most challenged title of 2018, and it has been among CBLDF’s most frequently defended titles.
The Walking Dead
Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (Image Comics, 2003)
At the end of the 2019 school year, the Wallace School District in Silverton, Idaho, banned The Walking Dead over concerns about “graphic imagery.” A former teacher opened an investigation into the series, and a review committee was formed to examine the books. The committee voted to retain the series, but an administrator overruled the decision and unilaterally removed the books from school shelves. Students are also restricted from bringing personal copies of the series onto campus, and the district is contemplating a system to prohibit students from accessing it through interlibrary loan. CBLDF is currently fighting the ban.
Watchmen
Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (DC Comics, 1987)
The graphic novel that changed everything about superheroes is also one of the most frequently banned comics! Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen has been praised by critics and fans alike since its 1986 debut. The alternate history reimagines the superhero genre, employing political allegory, adult themes, and unprecedented formal inventiveness in a murder mystery involving flawed heroes.
Watchmen won the Hugo Award in 1988 and has been instrumental in garnering more respect and shelf space for comics and graphic novels in libraries and mainstream bookstores. The same qualities that led to Watchmen’s massive acclaim also led to its challenge in school library collections.
Happy Banned Books Week Thursday! Today brings a look at the censorship of LGBTQ+ literature, lots of live readings, and more! Let’s take a look at the happenings…
Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week event page at https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/, where you can find events happening all over the world! If you’re hosting an event, let us know about it by completing this form — we’ll add it to the map!
Don’t forget to tag @BannedBooksWeek and #BannedBooksWeek on Twitter and Facebook when you share your Banned Books Week adventures!
Michelle Perez (THE PERVERT) and Grace Ellis (MOONSTRUCK) in conversation with Moni Barrette (GNCRT Board, Chula Vista Public Library Principal Librarian) about the disproportionately high incidence of bans and challenges levied against LGBTQ+ books in libraries and schools. This discussion will also touch on the recent increase in challenges and cancellations of Drag Storytimes in libraries across the nation. Brought to you by ALA’s Graphic Novel Comics Round Table and Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and Image Comics. Find out more »
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
NYU Cantor Film Center, New York, NY • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm EDT
With the 2020 election season picking up steam, debates over free speech, truth, and the university are of increasing relevance to the health of American democracy. But in an era of deepening polarization, many see these issues through partisan eyes, shouting into fractured echo chambers. Campuses seem to be at a cross-roads—can they restore a common understanding of facts, and of the rules of engagement and disagreement? Or are they in danger of buckling under the weight of our current culture war? Find out more »
Knowledge Centre, The British Library, London, United Kingdom • 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm BST
The UK has no official censorship – but does that fact make us too complacent? As part of Banned Book Week 2019, we explore the challenges facing LGBTQ+ Young Adult literature with Dean Atta, Fen Coles and Robin Stevens, chaired by Erica Gillingham. What are the invisible barriers to expression and publication? And how do editors, publishers, teachers, librarians, parents or even authors contribute to unofficial censorship around LGBTQ+ issues? Find out more »
Harvard Law School WCC B015, Cambridge, MA • 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EDT
Professor Randall L. Kennedy of HLS weaves a story of the fight against slavery and the censoring of David Walker’s 1822 tract Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World. Co-sponsored by the Harvard Law School Library, the American Constitution Society, the ACLU at HLS, the Harvard Law School Rule of Law Society, and the Law and Philosophy Society. A non-pizza lunch will be served. Find out more »
Lestat’s West, San Diego, CA • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm PDT
In honor of the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, San Diego Writers, Ink is planning a very special Banned Books Reading on September 26, 2019, at Lestat’s West at 3343 Adams Avenue in San Diego’s Normal Heights. Find out more »
Hooray For Books!, Alexandria, VA • 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm EDT
Every year, we’re excited to join book lovers from across Virginia to celebrate the freedom to read and call attention to the wealth of creativity that is stifled when books are forbidden from library shelves. This year’s Banned Books Week is from Sept. 22 – Sept. 28, but the fight for intellectual freedom takes place every day in every county in Virginia. That’s why we’re joining hands with independent bookstores across the Commonwealth to celebrate Banned Books Week. Find out more »
Join us on Thursday, September 28th at 7 pm for our September Book Club Discussion Night. This event takes place during Banned Book Week an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. We will discuss Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. $5 for the event, snack provided. Banned in Ireland when it first appeared in 1932, and removed from shelves and objected to ever since, Brave New World is still making waves today. Find out more »
In celebration of Banned Books Week, join us at the Castroville Library for a showing of To Kill a Mockingbird! Please bring blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy the show. Refreshments will be provided while supplies last. Find out more »
Unfortunately, some community members might object to certain books being available. It is important to manage those objections with professionalism, respect, and dedication to the mission of serving your community. Here are some useful tips.
Be Prepared
Specific written policies about collection development and challenge management are essential for libraries, educators, and theaters, and they’re also a good idea for retailers. Having a policy is just the first step — be sure to train all current and new staff in your policies and procedures and have periodic refresher sessions to ensure everyone on your team is on the same page. It may also be a good idea to post the policy somewhere where patrons can access it, either on a bulletin board or your institution’s website. Regularly update your policies as you gain experience, encounter new obstacles, or embrace new technology.
In addition to policies, some advance preparation can help prevent challenges to books, comics, and plays. Work with your staff to develop talking points for specific issues that you might encounter.
American Booksellers for Free Expression has created a number of tools to help retailers advocate for free expression here.
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund recently released Selling Comics, a guide to comics retailing that also includes several chapters on the freedom to sell comics. CBLDF’s Retailer Rights Workshops provide hands on information. If you are interested in hosting or participating, contact CBLDF at info@cbldf.org
Remember Your Community
Libraries and schools have a broad mandate to provide choice for all of the individuals in their community. That means that they provide access to ideas and information across the spectrum of political and social views. Retail stores and theaters can be more specialized in their mission, but they also serve a wide range of patrons. When confronting a complaint, it is important to emphasize this inclusive approach and remind people that they are free to make decisions for themselves and their minor children, but they can’t do so for others.
Serving the broader community doesn’t mean that staff at libraries and bookstores are substitute parents or guardians. Communicating with parents and providing expert knowledge to help them and their children make choices is a best practice, but parents need to understand that the final decision about their kids’ reading is their own.
Keep It Friendly
When someone comes to you with a complaint or challenge, be polite, professional, and friendly even if the individual making the complaint is upset or angry. We may disagree with the person making the challenge, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore or discount the concerns expressed. Here are a few best practices for these difficult situations:
Greet each person with a smile. Communicate your openness to inquiries and concerns, and show that you take them seriously.
Listen more than you talk. Take time to comprehend and acknowledge the individual’s concern. Stay calm and courteous.
Avoid sharing personal opinions. Instead, be prepared to present facts, policy, and other background materials in writing.
Give a clear, non-intimidating explanation of the procedure for registering a complaint or challenge, and provide information on when a decision can be expected.
Enlist Experts
You don’t need to go it alone! Contact the member organizations of the Banned Books Week Coalition, whose expert staff can help you manage the situation with proactive resources, one-on-one advice, letters of support, and more. Even if you’ve already resolved the situation, reporting the challenge will help advocates develop tools to assist other people in your situation.
Strong policies, good training, and adherence to your procedures are vital to creating the best outcome in challenge situations. People challenging content are generally well-intentioned, and they have a right to be heard. Having policies that allow you to hear their complaints and consider them objectively helps maintain a respectful approach to ensuring your institution serves the needs of everyone in your community in the best way possible — but those policies aren’t much use if you don’t stick to them!
Report Censorship!
The members of the Banned Books Week Coalition are ready to help fight challenges in your community, but we need to hear about them first! The best way to fight censorship is to call it out when it occurs. Several members of the Coalition have ways to report censorship, and they work collectively to ensure your rights:
Report censorship to the American Library Association using this form. ALA also has a number of challenge support tools here.
Report censorship to the National Coalition Against Censorship by completing this form.
Report censorship to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund by calling 1-888-88-CBLDF or 971-266-8212 or emailing info@cbldf.org
Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park
When the American experiment began, no one expected it to one day be summarized brilliantly by a stone arch in the middle of an expanse of mountains, hot springs, and fountains erupting on nature’s atomic stopwatch.
“For the benefit and enjoyment of all the people”
This is the inscription on the Roosevelt Arch, which serves as the gateway to Yellowstone National Park’s north entrance. Many who cross under its protective ideology claim that it is the central ideal of the National Park System, or what some people call “America’s best idea.”
The National Park System was an unprecedented action of democracy, built to share and retain beauty that anyone is welcome to. More than a hundred years later, the parks stand out as a small part of our democracy that actually takes the values of liberty and equality seriously, but it wasn’t the earliest example of this kind of democratic innovation.
In 1731, Benjamin Franklin founded The Library Company, which is billed as the first public library in the world. At the time, book shops were scarce, and if they weren’t scarce, books were expensive, so Franklin pitched the idea of gathering the books his “society of mutual improvement,” Junto, a debate club of sorts, read and discussed on a recurring basis, placing them in the room in which they met for consistent access. The experiment worked so well that he expanded access, gathering subscriptions and donations from the people of Philadelphia.
The idea of access to books caught the affection of the public, and two other libraries followed, The Darby Free Library in 1743, another subscription-supported library, and the Peterborough Town Library, the world’s first tax-supported free public library in 1833.
Though each of these libraries has their own unique “first,” each one sprung out of the same force that pushed the national parks forward: “for the benefit and enjoyment of all the people.”
When one experiences the freedom our country’s national parks offer, the feeling one gets isn’t an overwhelming sense of exercising civic democracy. When you stand at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon or stare onto the glassy water of Crater Lake, you aren’t considering the political freedoms that underpin your access to such places of beauty, but the beauty itself.
The same rings true for standing among the stacks. The landscapes may be different—waterfalls replaced with poetry; canyons, gorges, and mountains replaced with concepts, commas, and ideas—but whether we walk among sequoias of California or the shelves of young adult literature, we are taking part in the promises of personal freedom our nation offers. You can stare into both the horizon of the Badlands and the pages of Toni Morrison and experience the innovation of democracy, of a free people.
Every September, America’s libraries and leading literary institutions celebrate Banned Books Week, a time set aside to point the public eye toward books that have been challenged and banned from collections, brought to courts, and, in some cases, burned. There is not a Banned Parks Week, so it is here that our comparison dies, and if you’re anything like me, you’re left wondering why. How is it that books are banned, but parks are not?
The difference between libraries and national parks is that, though they both contain beauty, and both stand for access, only one—books—contains consumable ideas. Books are as wild as the beasts that hide in the park forests. Perhaps maybe even more so because ideas aren’t contained in a physical form. Regardless of form, humans fear wild things. We fear the unknown. Staring into the face of a bear might give you the same reaction as being faced with a book that makes you uncomfortable. Granted, one of these scenarios is more likely to end with death than the other. The point is, fear will trigger a reaction in every human.
Though I’m sure somewhere there’s the story of the man or woman who, when they encountered a bear, fought it off with their bare hands, the bulk of humans won’t do that. Most of us might try to remove ourselves from the situation by forgoing the expert’s advice to not run. And here is where we find another difference.
In the woods, we remove ourselves because, if we stay, we will be at the mercy of nature. In the stacks, we act, and I fear, believe, as if this isn’t true.
“Banned” is rarely the word we hear in our heads when we react to the books we find pushing against our sensibilities. Instead, we may say “inappropriate” or “harmful” or “too filled with cursing”—the list goes on. We can say a myriad of things that will lead us to believe that we’ve got the better idea. To us, this doesn’t look like censorship, it looks like truth. So, we challenge a book, firmly believing that we are doing right by the world. Yet we don’t exercise the same boldness when it comes to the wilderness.
We can decide to avoid a trail that we believe we aren’t up to tackling, but we do not deem those same trails inappropriate for others. If we do take those trails and they challenge us, we simply tell others that the trails are difficult. We don’t force others into not venturing into the wild based on our individual fitness and capacity. We decide for ourselves alone. And if we do go, we heed the signs that there may be bears ahead, and a hiker assumes the risks when they venture into the wild.
Books are no different, and it is a mistake to treat them as anything but wild. We must enter the library with the same caution we use when walking the mountains, forests, and rivers of our world. Preparations must be taken. Maps must be consulted. Books are banned and challenged because we continually make the mistake, whether out of fear or self-justification, of assuming books are static objects that we can impose ourselves upon. It is much more obvious when staring down the vastness of a mountain range that we can be swallowed whole by it. It is not as obvious when we crack open the pages of a book, and we must realize that it is the same exercise in order for a freedom we can all agree upon can truly ring.
“For the benefit and enjoyment of all the people”
When the American experiment began, no one expected it to one day be summarized brilliantly by a stone arch, just as no one expected libraries to stand in the gaps of equality and meet the fingers of humanity grasping for knowledge. Freedom is at stake when we remove and ban books from the hands of those willing to hike their trails, scale their cliffs, and get lost in their back country.
When we ban a book, regardless of our intentions, we keep people from a wilderness that is not ours to guard.
Dave Connis is the non-award winning author of Suggested Reading, a young adult book about banned books, censorship, and the impact of books on us and the world.
We’re halfway through the celebration, and Banned Books Week isn’t slowing down! Here’s a snapshot of how you can join the fun today!
Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week event page at https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/, where you can find events happening all over the world! If you’re hosting an event, let us know about it by completing this form — we’ll add it to the map!
Don’t forget to tag @BannedBooksWeek and #BannedBooksWeek on Twitter and Facebook when you share your Banned Books Week adventures!
Ronald Wimberly (BLACK HISTORY IN ITS OWN WORDS) and Nate Powell (MARCH) in conversation with Scott Bonner (IFRT, Ferguson Municipal Public Library Director) about banned and challenged books, the role of censorship in civil rights movements, and how their work in comics has addressed legacies of erasure. Brought to you by ALA’s Graphic Novel Comics Round Table and Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and Image Comics. Find out more »
Did you know that hundreds of books are banned and challenged every year? In fact, you probably have some banned books on your own bookshelf! In this Banned Books Week webinar: discover why some popular titles have been banned; learn about the different ways a book can be censored; hear stories about students who stood up for the freedom to read; and find out how YOU can celebrate Banned Books Week. At the end of the program, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Interim Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone and Assistant Director Kristin Pekoll can answer your questions about banned books, censorship, and libraries. Find out more »
Hall Branch – Chicago Public Library, Chicago, IL • 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CDT
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
A slightly raucous variety show celebrating the right to read whatever we please! In conjunction with the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week, and presented with PEN America, the Banned Books Bash is a fun, nerdy reminder that books need champions, and libraries feed democracy. Hosted by the marvelous Evan Narcisse, writer for Marvel’s Black Panther series. Also featuring an homage to Toni Morrison with Dr. Jennifer Wilks,Drag Queen Storytime with Ms. Anne Thrope,
Comics Code & Teen Delinquency with Michael Conrad, and
a toast to rabble rouser Molly Ivins with The Texas Observer. Find out more »
A celebration of songs and scenes from censored plays in honor of Banned Books Week! Performed by Atlanta artists in association with the Atlanta Regional Dramatists Guild, Dramatists Guild Legal Fund and PEN America and brought to you by Merely Players Presents and Kalliope Studios, Doraville. Find out more »
Dear Banned Author is a letter-writing campaign hosted by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. We will have a table set up all day where you can write to banned or challenged authors, sharing what their stories meant to you. To learn more about the Dear Banned Author campaign visit www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/dear-banned-author. For more information about Banned Books Week visit bannedbooksweek.org. Find out more »
Collin College Frisco Campus (Preston Ridge Campus) Conference Center, Frisco, TX • 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm CDT
Please join us for Collin College’s annual Banned Books Week celebration, a fun, interactive event with faculty and student readings of challenged, banned, and/or censored works and an exciting trivia competition with trophies and some fabulous prizes and trophies. This year there will also be a special dance performance by the Collin Dance Ensemble entitled, “Censorship is a Beast,” choreographed by Dance Professor Tiffanee Arnold! Pizza will be served. All are invited and welcome. Free admission. Find out more »
In a new policy paper, the literary and human rights organization PEN America showcases the impact of the nation’s most pernicious book ban: the system of restrictions that exist across U.S. prisons, jails, and other incarceration settings. Some 2.2 million people are currently incarcerated across the country. Against that backdrop, Literature Locked Up: How Prison Book Restriction Policies Constitute the Nation’s Largest Book Ban details the types of book bans prisoners face, the arbitrariness with which they are implemented, and the lack of transparency and oversight that leads to bans on titles from Nobel Prize winners and leading historical figures. The publication of this paper comes amid PEN America’s Literature Locked Up initiative for Banned Books Week 2019.
“This year, as the country focuses on unfair and arbitrary book bans nationwide, we wanted to focus on the pernicious ban on books in the nation’s prisons,” said James Tager, author of the report and PEN America’s deputy director of free expression policy and research. “Literature offers a lifeline for incarcerated people in the midst of a dehumanizing system. We should be promoting access to literature in our prisons. Instead, our policies today are arbitrary, irrational, and at times needlessly cruel. We urgently need a course correction that upholds the right to read behind bars.”
PEN America reports that literature on race and civil rights is disproportionately subject to bans, often on the grounds that such texts threaten to disrupt a prison’s social order. Often entire categories of books are banned, and these often reflect discriminatory approaches to regulation.
PEN America also found that review mechanisms fail to offer meaningful oversight over these bans. While the U.S. Supreme Court has established that prisons must provide some form of administrative appeal process, there is no requirement that such reviewers are independent of the prison system, nor are there any criteria regarding reviewers’ qualifications.
PEN America also explores how in addition to content-specific bans, prison systems have enacted wholesale restrictions on book deliveries, such as requiring purchases come only through “secure vendors,” as well as shutdowns on book donations and deliveries writ large. PEN America finds that these “content-neutral bans” have the effect of banning potentially thousands of titles by significantly limiting the range of books available to people who are incarcerated.
While no comprehensive list exists of all books banned in jails and prisons within the U.S., tens of thousands of titles are banned outright based on outmoded or misguided attempts to regulate behavior. The carceral system in Texas, for example, has reportedly banned more than 10,000 titles, including Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. But perhaps more insidious, the paper finds that bans are often ad hoc, purely at the discretion of mailroom employees or corrections officers who happen to be on duty, constituting a wider and more arbitrary landscape of restrictions that is often invisible to the public.
“Because these book bans are rarely reviewable and seldom overturned voluntarily, the only recourse incarcerated people have is public outrage,” said PEN America’s Tager. “Every time book bans are overturned, it’s because people on the inside and advocates on the outside have urged prison systems to make changes. But the system is opaque and banned book lists are unavailable. We can’t rely on public outrage alone to ensure that the rights of people in prison aren’t routinely violated. That practice has to end.”
PEN America recommends that prison systems follow the American Library Association’s Prisoners’ Right to Read – Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights principles as a guide. PEN America also urges state and federal officials to implement periodic review of book restriction policies; develop clear and non-discriminatory policies governing such restrictions; encourage prison authorities to consider the educational, literary, and rehabilitative merit of texts; make any banned book list available and accessible; and most crucially, enact meaningful review policies.
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. PEN America is a member of the Banned Books Week Coalition.
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PEN is hosting a Literature Locked Up event today:
Join Scuppernong Books on Tuesday, September 24 to celebrate banned and challenged books from around the world. In honor of Banned Books Week 2019, the event will feature readings of banned books and involve the Scuppernong’s Young Adult Book Club, as well as the general public, with an educational component around PEN America’s Literature Locked Up campaign and provide an opportunity for participants to sign a petition calling for the right to read in American prisons. Find out more »
Banned Books Week is rolling strong, and today’s events include webinars, comics as inspiration, readings, Salman Rushdie and Laila Lalami, and so. much. trivia!
Be sure to visit the Banned Books Week event page at https://bannedbooksweek.org/events/, where you can find events happening all over the world! If you’re hosting an event, let us know about it by completing this form — we’ll add it to the map!
Don’t forget to tag @BannedBooksWeek and #BannedBooksWeek on Twitter and Facebook when you share your Banned Books Week adventures!
Let’s take a look at how people are celebrating today!
The theme of the event is Banned Books and this is defined as books that have been banned, censored or challenged. In Desert Island Books, panel members select one or more books on the event theme plus a ‘wild card’, being a book that they have enjoyed and would recommend to others.
The panel comprises:
Philip Kent (Director of Library Services & University Librarian, University of Bristol)
Professor Madhu Krishnan (Professor of African, World & Comparative Literatures, University of Bristol)
Jari Moate (Writer & Founder of Bristol Festival of Literature)
The event starts at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45pm. Find out more »
Knowledge Centre, The British Library, London, United Kingdom • 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm BST
A reading and discussion of the 1962 play by John Osborne at the British Library in London, which miraculously avoided a ban at a time when attitudes towards sexual behaviour were just turning. How differently would the play’s themes of privacy and public morality be received today?This is a Banned Books Week event in partnership with the British Library, Booksellers Association, English PEN, Free Word, Hachette UK, Index on Censorship, Islington Council’s Library and Heritage Service, Libraries Connected, The Publishers Association and The Royal Society of Literature. Find out more »
Sloane Leong (PRISM STALKER) and Henry Barajas (VOZ DE M.A.Y.O. TATA RAMBO) in conversation with Alea Perez (GNCRT President-Elect) about banned people, the legacy of colonialism in literature and popular culture, and the rise of post-colonial voices as a challenge to systems which under-represent/under-acquire authors/artists of color. Brought to you by ALA’s Graphic Novel Comics Round Table and Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and Image Comics.Find out more »
Back of the Yards Library, Chicago, IL • 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm CDT
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Robert S. Swanson Library & Learning Center, Menomonie, WI • 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm CDT
In the intellectual freedom community, our job is to change the world one mind at a time. With identity censorship rampant and an increasingly polarized social climate, the core value of free speech is now being called into question. During Banned Books Week, CBLDF Executive Director and Banned Books Week Coalition Chair Charles Brownstein draws on his experiences defending comics and graphic novels to reflect on the role of free expression in creating a culture of empathy, respect, curiosity, and intellectual freedom. Find out more »
This Banned Books Week, join the conversation about access to information. Launched in 1982, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and draws attention to the harms of censorship. During this presentation, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Assistant Director Kristin Pekoll will explore the history of Banned Books Week and why it’s important today; current censorship trends (it’s not just books that are targeted!); and specific ways readers can stay alert about censorship. Attendees are invited to ask questions during the second half of the program. Find out more »
All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, OK • 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm CDT
Salman Rushdie returns to Tulsa for a celebration of his new novel, Quichotte, a dazzling Don Quixote for the modern age—a tour de force that is as much an homage to an immortal work of literature as it is to the quest for love and family. PEN America, alongside Magic City Books, is thrilled to commemorate this release right in time for Banned Books Week!
Rushdie, a former president of PEN America, will be joined in conversation by Pulitzer Prize finalist and PEN America Member Laila Lalami whose most recent and timely novel, The Other Americans, is at once a family saga, a murder mystery, and a love story, all informed by the treacherous fault lines of American culture. Join us to discuss a literary interpretation of a classic and the accompanying satirical commentary on our modern age of alternative facts. Find out more »
Join Scuppernong Books on Tuesday, September 24 to celebrate banned and challenged books from around the world. In honor of Banned Books Week 2019 , the event will feature readings of banned books and involve the Scuppernong’s Young Adult Book Club, as well as the general public, with an educational component around PEN America’s Literature Locked Up campaign and provide an opportunity for participants to sign a petition calling for the right to read in American prisons. Find out more »
Mount Prospect Library, Mount Prospect, IL • 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm CDT
Free dramatic readings by City Lit Theater from the Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books in America, as compiled by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. The program lasts approximately 50 minutes. Find out more »
Andras Riedlmayer, Bibliographer in Islamic Art and Architecture, Harvard Fine Arts Library and Radu Popa, Assistant Dean for Library Services & Director of the Law Library, NYU will share their stories, from testifying before the ITCY to fleeing communist Romania. Co-sponsored by the Harvard Law School Library, the ACLU at HLS, the Harvard Law School Rule of Law Society, the Law and Philosophy Society, and the International Human Rights Clinic. A non-pizza lunch will be served. Find out more »
Community Library Network, Post Falls, ID • 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm PDT
Calling all Muggles! Do you know to get to Diagon Alley? What are the seven ingredients needed for Polyjuice Potion? Prove your wizarding world knowledge at Harry Potter Trivia, where teams of up to 4 will compete for glory and prizes. Adults and teens 13+ welcome! Find out more »
Join the ACLU of Iowa and the Iowa Library Association in celebrating our First Amendment rights and freedom to information! The questions will include a wide range of topics, but you don’t need to be a censorship expert to join and win fun prizes. All proceeds benefit the ACLU of Iowa and the ILA in their work to protect free speech rights and bring raw attention to the harmful effects of censorship. Tickets are $10 per person. Find out more »
The First Amendment protects the freedom to read. Everyone is entitled to express their opinions about a book, but they don’t have the right to limit another person’s access to information. This kind of censorship is most effective when people don’t act to stop it. Here are some fundamentals to help protect your rights when it comes to freedom of speech and the right to read!
Educators
Teachers are the foundation of our free society. Their proximity to younger readers also puts them on the front lines in free expression battles. If you’re a teacher, you should understand that your rights can vary by school or school district, so be sure to get acquainted with your institution’s collection development and challenge policies. If your school lacks such policies, volunteer to help craft them. Reach out to NCAC or NCTE for guidance in drafting clear, effective policies. Public and private institutions have different First Amendment obligations. Government entities like public schools are bound by the First Amendment, but private schools can have a narrower set of guidelines.
Generally speaking, parents can object to assignments and request alternatives for their children, but they can’t make you remove content. A single complaint shouldn’t override the professional judgment of educators in shaping curriculum.
Librarians
Public libraries provide resources for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people in their community. The American Library Association provides a vast range of resources, policies, and best practices to help support your ability to serve the community. Among the principles articulated in ALA’s Library Bill of Rights:
Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.
Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.
Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment. Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access
to ideas.
The First Amendment protects the right to sell all kinds of material, including material for adults and mature readers. Key principles that ensure you and your staff are safe:
Establish good policies and follow them. By having some specific guidelines in place and making sure every member of your staff is on the same page, you can help defuse a First Amendment emergency.
Thoughtfully display content. Every community is different, so be deliberate in how you display material. It may be helpful to segregate material for younger readers into its own section, rack mature titles on a high shelf, or even keep some more adult material in its own section.
Talk to your customers and be involved in your community. It sounds like common sense, but if you’re well-established as part of the community, people are more likely to try to work out a solution one-on-one than to take an adversarial approach.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund recently released Selling Comics, a guide to comics retailing that also includes several chapters on the freedom to sell comics. Get a copy here. CBLDF’s Retailer Rights Workshops provide hands on information. If you are interested in hosting or participating, contact CBLDF at info@cbldf.org
The American Booksellers Association has created a number of tools to help retailers advocate for various causes, including free expression. Find out more at http://www.bookweb.org/abfe
Readers (AKA All of Us!)
Whether you’re age 7 or 107, the First Amendment protects your right to access information. Here are some ways you can help uphold that right:
Stay informed! Keep in touch with your local librarians and educators to find out about book challenges in your community. Subscribe to news publications dedicated to the First Amendment and free expression, such as email newsletters from the members of the Banned Books Week Coalition.
Report censorship! Reporting challenges when they happen helps free expression advocates gather necessary information about what materials are at risk. The members of the Banned Books Week Coalition are ready to help fight challenges in your community, but we need to hear about them first! The best way to fight censorship is to call it out when it occurs. Several members of the Coalition have resources for reporting censorship:
Report censorship to the American Library Association using this form. ALA also has a number of challenge support tools here.
Report censorship to the National Coalition Against Censorship by completing this form.
Report censorship to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund by calling 1-888-88-CBLDF or 971-266-8212 or emailing info@cbldf.org
Speak up! Attempts to ban books rarely succeed when people speak out against them. Whether it is a school board, PTA, or library meeting or a public hearing, be there to speak up for the First Amendment and the right to read. Write letters to your local administrators, politicians, and newspapers supporting the right to read. Remind your fellow citizens and officials that no one has the right to restrict access to books, and be prepared to stand up for all books, even those you may not like. Any successful book ban opens the door to more censorship.
