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!
If you are organizing a virtual event, choose “Virtual Event” for the venue. If it is an in-person event, please provide complete address and time information, as well as contact information so we can send queries for clarification. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee your event will display correctly. Thank you!
If you have any questions, please email coordinator@bannedbooksweek.org
Little Free Library Unbound is a digital event series connecting stewards, patrons, supporters, authors, publishers, the Little Free Library organization staff, and our national board via monthly webinars on book-related topics. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions for our guest panelists, and our moderator will lead a discussion alongside the Q&A. Chapter 20 ... Read More
Visit Chapel Hill Public Library Meeting Room A between September 17th and September 30th during library open hours to see a display of Banned Books Trading Cards 2022 submissions and large format displays of winning entries from past years. Pick up your set of trading cards and participate in an interactive display on the theme, ... 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
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 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
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
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
Celebrate your favorite banned books out loud with the Shimer Great Books School! The Shimer Great Books School at North Central College invites you to a “read-in” in our Oesterle Library and Learning Commons. Bring a selection from your favorite banned book to read out loud, discuss with Shimer students and faculty, and learn more ... Read More
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
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
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
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
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
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
America’s burgeoning cultural wars have swept into school and community libraries, where works from Huckleberry Finn to Toni Morrison’s Beloved have long faced challenges. Now, a new politically charged wave of book-banning sentiment takes aim at titles on sexual and racial identity. Marking this year’s observance of Banned Books Week, September 18-24, a panel of veteran librarians from Kansas City-area ... Read More
Join Chapel Hill Public Library and Carolina Public Humanities for a conversation about intellectual freedom and the dangers of censorship during Banned Books Week. Topics to be covered by panelists include: Professor Tori Ekstrand from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism will discuss free speech, censorship, and media law. NC Deputy Director Renee Sekel of Red Wine and Blue, a ... Read More
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