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.

Banned Books Week Coalition Events

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

Virtual Event • 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 … Read More

Featured Events

Practical Strategies for Defending Books in Your Library

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

Books on the Chopping Block

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

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 • 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

Free Speech & Banned Books: A Conversation with Azar Nafisi

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

This Story Matters: An Intellectual Freedom Discussion with NCTE Affiliates

Virtual Event • 7:00 P.M. EDT
Organized by NCTE

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

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

Virtual Event • 8:00 p.m. EDT

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

Intellectual Freedom & You: A Banned Books Week Webinar

Virtual Event • 7:00 p.m. CDT

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

From Howl to Now: Book Bans in the US

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.

Download a full PDF of the new resource here.