Every year, bookstores, libraries, universities, and organizations host engaging programs that spotlight censorship. Are you hosting an event for Banned Books Week? Putting up a display? Let us know about it, and we’ll share it here for the world to find!

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Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future

New-York Historical Society 170 Central Park West, New York, NY

Special symposium event celebrating PEN America’s centenary, at the New-York Historical Society. Over the last 100 years, PEN America has mobilized countless writers, activists, and public intellectuals in the fight to defend free expression and the open exchange of ideas. Join PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and President Ayad Akhtar for Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future, ... Read More

$23.05 – $267.79
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The Assault on Black Thought: Book Banning in Florida

Books & Books 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, FL

In June of 2021, the Florida State Board of Education approved a policy amendment that banned classroom instruction of Critical Race Theory and The 1619 Project in Florida’s schools. This amendment was soon followed by a slate of Florida legislation seeking to censor books related to race in the classrooms. On September 17, join PEN America Miami/South Florida Chapter, Miami Book Fair, and Books ... Read More

Free

What YOU Can Do to Defend the Right to Read: Award-Winning Librarian Extraordinaire Martha Hickson With Special Guest Daniel Handler, AKA Lemony Snicket!

Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice 12 Stockton St., Princeton, NJ

Award-winning librarian Martha Hickson at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice to enlighten us about the state of censorship & what YOU can do to defend the right to read (& with a very special guest appearance by Daniel Handler AKA Lemony Snicket!) In schools & libraries around the country, extremists are attempting to ... Read More

Free
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Band Against the Ban in Arizona

Changing Hands Bookstore 300 West Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ

Join the PEN Arizona Chapter in Phoenix as it welcomes local leaders and writers in support of free expression during Banned Books Week 2022. These speakers include Arizona Senator Christine Marsh, American Civil Liberties Union Policy Director Darrell Hill, and veteran Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini. The evening will include education on the current environment of book ... Read More

Free
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Virtual Event: Banned Books, Fahrenheit 451, and the Division Censorship Creates

Virtual Event

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

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Spotlight on George M. Johnson

Virtual Event

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

Free
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The Book Ban Wave: Educational Censorship in SoCal

Virtual Event

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

Free
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Banned Book Week Social Hour in Durham, North Carolina

Queeny's 321 East Chapel Hill Street, #Suite 100, Durham, NC

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

Free
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Restricted Access: The American History of Book Banning

New York Public Library: Celeste Bartos Forum 476 Fifth Ave, New York, NY

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

Free
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A Conversation About Banned Books with Angie Thomas and Jerry Craft

Virtual Event

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

Free

Meet the Author: Ryan Estrada

Virtual Event

The author of the graphic memoirs Banned Book Club, Occulted and No Rules Tonight, Ryan Estrada has worked with many people who changed their lives, and the world, by reading banned books. Join the artist/author for a stimulating discussion on why books are banned and what we gain from reading them. Please register. You will be emailed a link no later ... Read More

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Banned Books and Body Autonomy in Birmingham

Burdock Book Collective 4413 5th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL

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

Free
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Virtual Event: Defending LGBTQ Literature in Oklahoma

Virtual Event

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

Free
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Claiming Our Stories: LGBTQ Book Bans in America

Virtual Event

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

Free
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Free Speech & Banned Books: A Conversation with Azar Nafisi

Utah Museum of Fine Arts 410 Campus Center Drive, Salt Lake City, UT

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

Free
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The Censorship of LGBTQ+ Comic Books with Maia Kobabe and Mike Curato

Virtual Event

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

Free
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From Howl to Now: Book Bans in the US

Virtual Event

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

Free
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Free Banned Books Week Event With Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Rep. Cori Bush

Busboys and Poets (Anacostia) 2004 Martin Luther King Junior Avenue Southeast, Washington DC

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

Free

Banned Comic Books

St. Louis Public Library - Central Library 1301 Olive St., St. Louis, MO

Who’s afraid of comic books? Book bans across Missouri and the U.S. have often targeted graphic novels and comic books, especially those that depict issues of gender, sexuality and race. New Missouri laws will punish educators and school librarians who provide restricted materials to students with fines and jail time. This event considers banned comic books ... Read More

Free
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Intellectual Freedom & You: A Banned Books Week Webinar

Virtual Event

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

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FREEDOM TO READ: Fighting Book Banning and Censorship in Our Libraries with Deborah Caldwell-Stone and Bridget Quinn

Virtual Event

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

Free
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A Conversation with Author Jennifer Niven

Virtual Event

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

Free

Intellectual Freedom – Banned Books Week Event

Dr. Ernie Bond Curriculum Resource Center 1101 Camden Avenue, Salisbury, MD

MLA Intellectual Freedom Panel and Salisbury University Libraries in conjunction with the Wicomico Public Library and the Eastern Shore Regional Libraries (ESRL) are hosting a Banned Book Week Event calling attention to current efforts to censor books, the impact such efforts have, and underscores the importance of the freedom to read. Please join us virtually ... Read More

Free
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Author Talk: George M. Johnson All Boys Aren’t Blue

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G St NW, Washington, DC

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

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Let’s Get Organized: Fighting Book Bans Together

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library 901 G St NW, Washington, DC

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

Free
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Celebrating Black Gay Literature Amidst a Wave of Book Bans

Source Booksellers 4240 Cass Avenue, Unit 105, Detroit, MI

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

Free