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.
Teacher/resister Summer Boismier, author Julia Scheeres, librarian Sheila Dickinson, and the staff of Revolution Books
We will read from some of the targeted books and discuss the epidemic of book banning, the
ominous signal it sends about where some powerful forces want to take this country, why it
has exploded across America especially, but not only, in schools, and what we need to do to
stop it.
Access to books and ideas are at the center of the cultural and political war raging in the United States, and libraries and schools have become battlegrounds. The East Side Freedom Library intends to be a space where ideas can be freely discussed and where books from diverse cultural and ideological perspectives are available. We invite you to join us for our observance of “Banned Books Week.”
ESFL invites you to join us on Saturday, September 24, at 1pm CT, either by Zoom or on our front lawn. We will hear from a panel of writers, teachers, and librarians. We also invite you to volunteer to read a paragraph from a book written by any of these authors whose work has been under threat of censure
In celebration of Banned Books Week, we feature a first ever and yet already world famous BANNED BOOKS TRIVIA! Come to the Friends Auditorium to compete (and learn!) with your friends, family members, neighbors, random people you meet on the street, to earn the shining glory of WINNER OF BANNED BOOKS TRIVIA! The renown is endless, and the prizes are the friends we make along the way.
Compete by yourself or as a group, and learn about how literature is challenged on a daily basis!
Join Humanist Society Scotland for an online evening of discussion to mark Banned Books Week 2022. In light of the recent horrific attack on Salman Rushdie and the increase in book banning in schools in the US, we wanted to create an event that highlights religious censorship of books. OMG, you can’t write that! Books, Censorship, and Religion
Join us online on Thursday 22nd September, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (British Summer Time)
The panel discussion will be hosted by our CEO Fraser Sutherland and will include playwright and Royal Lyceum artistic director David Greig, cartoonist and Executive Director of Cartoonists Rights Network International Terry Anderson, Emma Wadsworth-Jones of Humanists International and formerly of PEN International, and Professor Emerita of Royal Conservatoire Scotland, theatre director, and co-chair of Humanist Society Scotland Maggie Kinloch. The panel discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A.
In defiance of recent and ongoing book bannings, we’ll be occupying and reading to the main room of Oesterle Library on Wednesday, September 21, at 5:00 pm. All are welcome to converse, eat some dinner (on us!), and read a selection out loud from your favorite banned book. If you’d like to read but aren’t sure what to bring, the Oesterle librarians will have some of their favorite banned books on display for the event.
The vast majority of the Shimer School’s curriculum has been challenged or banned throughout history. Someone doesn’t want to read what you’ve been reading, and I think that’s a pretty good reason to read it.
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 one of the country’s most banned library books.
George will discuss their work and the recent trend of book banning taking place nationwide.
100 Signed copies of “All Boys Aren’t Blue” book will be available after the conversation thanks to the DC Public Library Foundation and Mahogany Bookstore.
About the Author
George M. Johnson is an Award-Winning Black Non-Binary writer, author, and activist in the NYC area. They’ve written for major outlets, including Teen Vogue, Entertainment Tonight, NBC, The Root, Buzzfeed, Essence, Ebony, THEM, and The Grio.
They have also served as Guest Editor for BET.com’s Pride month. They were awarded the 2019 Salute to Excellence Award by the National Association of Black Journalists for their article “When Racism Anchored your Health” in Vice Magazine and named The Root 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2020.
They are the author of the New York Times Bestselling Young Adult Memoir All Boys Aren’t Blue discussing their adolescence growing up as a young Black Queer boy in New Jersey through a series of powerful essays. The book is a Teen Vogue Recommended Read, a Buzzfeed Recommended Read, a People Magazine Best Book of the Summer, a New York Library Best Book, and a Chicago Public Library Best Book. It was optioned for Television by Gabrielle Union’s “I’ll Have Another Productions” and Sony TV.
George serves as the executive producer and co-writer for the upcoming series based on their real-life college experience at the HBCU Virginia Union University.
George’s memoir We Are Not Broken is the vibrant story of George, Garrett, Rall, and Rasul — four children raised by Nanny, their fiercely devoted grandmother. Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin, calls the book “a deeply impactful account of intergenerational love that reveals the power of accepting young people exactly as they are while encouraging them to be ever more themselves.”
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 not have to face these difficult circumstances alone.
Join leadership from NCTE’s Standing Committee Against Censorship, members from across the country, a host of state and regional affiliates, and Penguin Random House Education during Banned Books Week to learn about the landscape of censorship challenges in the classroom, discover what resources are available to you from NCTE and on the local level, and share uplifting ways to encourage students’ right to read and teachers’ freedom to teach.
This event is open to NCTE members, NCTE affiliate members, and any interested literacy educator.
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.
In state after state, local community members, school boards and elected lawmakers are challenging the rights of children and young adults to read books like Gender Queer and The 1619 Project. Even a children’s biography of Rosa Parks has made a list of banned books. This growing national tension between young people’s rights to read what they want and adults restricting access based on views of ‘suitability’ is playing out right now in courtrooms and communities nationwide.
Join Joshua Block (National ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Projects); Linda Johnson, president and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library; Jeffrey Blair, co-owner of a Missouri African American-themed children’s bookstore providing free copies of banned books to state residents; and Melissa Jacobs, Director of Library Services for the NYC Department of Education, to explore this urgent topic. Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, moderates.
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 about how Shimer keeps banned books in the conversation. Shimer students and faculty will be present to answer questions about our program and dinner will be served for attendees.
Banned Books Week (September 18 – 24, 2022) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It 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 to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
The library will have a display of recently and historically banned books. The display features statistics from across the country about what materials are being banned in libraries, why the books have been challenged or banned, and information about the freedom to read.
Checking out one displayed book will allow you to select a free book from the list of banned books to keep for your personal collection. There will also be trivia questions you can answer on the library Facebook page or at the library.
Participants can also write a postcard to an author of a banned book at our “Dear Banned Author” station.
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 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.”
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
It’s a play about books, censorship, home, the past, and the future. And above all, it’s a play about stories.
As the Civil Rights movement is flowering, a simple children’s picture book about a black rabbit marrying a white rabbit stirs the passions of a segregationist State Senator and a no-nonsense State Librarian in 1959 Montgomery, Alabama. A contrasting story of childhood friends — an African-American man and a white woman of privilege, reunited in adulthood — provides private counterpoint to the public events swirling in the state capital. Political foes, star-crossed lovers, and one feisty children’s author inhabit the same page in a Deep South of the imagination that brims with humor, heartbreak and hope. Inspired by true events.
Deeply discounted tickets for librarians! LIBRARY NIGHT is Friday, September 23–email for details at boxofficestaff@get.org.
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.
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.
This event will stream LIVE on the Banned Books Week Facebook page on September 22 at 5:00 p.m. EDT: @BannedBooksWeek
About the Panelists
Mike Curato loves drawing and writing almost as much as he loves cupcakes and ice cream (and that’s a LOT!). He is the author and illustrator of everyone’s favorite polka-dotted elephant, Little Elliot. His debut title, Little Elliot, Big City, released in 2014 to critical acclaim, has won several awards, and has been translated into over ten languages. There are now five books in the Little Elliot series, including Little Elliot, Big Family; Little Elliot, Big Fun; Little Elliot, Fall Friends; and Merry Christmas, Little Elliot. Meanwhile, Mike had the pleasure of illustrating What If… by Samantha Berger, All the Way to Havana by Margarita Engle, Worm Loves Worm by J.J. Austrian, The Power of One written by Trudy Ludwig, and contributed to What’s Your Favorite Color? by Eric Carle and Friends, Sunny Day: A Celebration of the Sesame Street Theme Song, and Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love. Publishers Weekly named Mike a “Fall 2014 Flying Start.” In the same year he won the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show Founder’s Award. Mike’s debut young adult graphic novel, Flamer, was awarded the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Young Adult and the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award for Middle Grade/Young Adult.
Maia Kobabe is a graduate of the first ever class in the MFA in Comics program at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Eir first full length book, Gender Queer: A Memoir, came out from Lion Forge Comics/Oni Press in May 2019. Gender Queer was a winner of an Alex Award and Stonewall Honor in 2020, and it was nominated for an Ignatz Award and appeared on the Best Graphic Novels for Teens List from YALSA in 2019. It was also the most challenged book in the United States in 2021. Maia’s short comics have been published in The Nib, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and numerous anthologies. E has also illustrated the YA prose novel We Are the Fire, We Are the Ashes written by Joy McCullough (2021).
Find resources to help fight Gender Queer book challenges here: bit.ly/GenderQueerbans
Greg Rokisky is the Senior Manager, Digital Strategy forPFLAG National, creating engaging stories and conversations across all social and digital channels.
Based in Lansing, Mich., Greg has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in mission-driven strategic communications, public relations, and marketing work in nonprofit, corporate, and agency settings. Prior to PFLAG National, he worked as the Assistant Director of Marketing for Michigan’s public education association in service to thousands of the state’s elected school board members. He’s worked on strategic activations with brands like Zappos and Angry Birds, with influencers like Shaquille O’Neal and Frankie Grande, and on public affairs and advocacy campaigns to change hearts, minds, and policy. When it comes down to it, he is a data-driven, detail-oriented creative with a love for furthering inclusive and intersectional organizational objectives through all means of communicating and storytelling.
On the daily, Greg is fueled by a constant flow of black iced coffee, endless shelves of books, and the latest binge-worthy entertainment.
Jordan Smith is a freelance editor, writer, and actor. He also serves as the digital editor for Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Coming from a background as a literary manager for the stage, Jordan believes in the power of storytelling. As an actor, Jordan supplied the motion reference and voice of Ghal-Sur in the recent rotoscoped dark fantasy film The Spine of Night.
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.
This event will stream LIVE on the Banned Books Week Facebook page on September 21 at 6:00 p.m. EDT: @BannedBooksWeek
Angie Thomas was born and raised in Mississippi, but now calls Atlanta her home. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. She can also still rap if needed.
Angie is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her debut novel, The Hate U Give, started as a senior project in college. It was later acquired by the Balzer+Bray imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in a 13-publisher auction and debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, winning the ALA’s William C. Morris Debut Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA), the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize (UK), and the Deutscher Jugendliterapreis (Germany). The Hate U Give was adapted into a critically acclaimed film from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr.
Angie’s second novel, On the Come Up, is a #1 New York Times bestseller as well, and a film is in development with Paramount Pictures with Angie acting as a producer. In 2020, Angie released Find Your Voice: A Guided Journal to Writing Your Truth as a tool to help aspiring writers tell their stories. In 2021, Angie returned to the world of Garden Heights with Concrete Rose, a prequel to The Hate U Give focused on seventeen-year-old Maverick Carter that debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Jerry Craft is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020); the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019); and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020). Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City.
Jeremy C. Young is the senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America. In this role, he advances PEN America’s advocacy for free expression in educational institutions, advocates against censorious legislation and politically-motivated efforts to ban books and curricular materials, and supports academic freedom in higher education and the freedom to read, learn, and teach in K-12 schools. A former history professor, Young holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Indiana University and is the author of The Age of Charisma: Leaders, Followers, and Emotions in American Society, 1870-1940 (Cambridge University Press, 2017). He was a 2021 New Leaders Council Fellow and a recipient of the Roger D. Bridges Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Historians of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.
Amber Payne is co-editor in chief of The Emancipator, a multimedia publication created to reimagine the first abolitionist newspapers in the United States and reframe the national conversation around race and equity. This collaboration between The Boston Globe and Dr. Ibram Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University will amplify critical voices, ideas, data, and debates around hastening racial justice.
Amber was a 2021 Nieman fellow at Harvard University. She formerly served as managing editor of BET.com, overseeing the daily editorial output and leading digital video strategy. Prior to that, Amber was executive producer of Teen Vogue and Them. In 2015 she launched NBCBLK, a section of NBCNews.com dedicated to elevating the conversation around Black identity, social issues, and culture. Amber started her career at NBC Nightly News producing breaking news and feature stories. Raised in Southern Maryland, she is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
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.
This event will stream LIVE on the Banned Books Week Facebook page on September 20 at 1:00 p.m. EDT: @BannedBooksWeek
About George M. Johnson
George M. Johnson (they/them) 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 forty 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.
Peter Coyl (he/him) is the Library Director & CEO of the Sacramento Public Library. He is also the President of the Freedom to Read Foundation and serves on ALA Council representing the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. He is a member of the American Library Assocations’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, and served as Chair of the Stonewall Book Awards Committee and as Chair of ALA’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (now the Rainbow Round Table), and as a member of the Public Library Assocaitions’s Task Force on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice.
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) 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!
This event will stream LIVE on the Banned Books Week Facebook page on September 19 at 6:00 p.m. EDT: @BannedBooksWeek
About the Panelists
Cameron Samuels (they/them) recently graduated from the Katy Independent School District in Texas, where they organized the FReadom Week initiative to eventually distribute a total of 700+ challenged or banned books. Once the only student to speak at school board meetings, receiving no applause while other speakers called for book banning, Samuels built a student-led movement within months by packing school board meetings and continuously outnumbering the opposition. Decisions were made to keep certain books on shelves, and while currently a student at Brandeis University, Samuels’ efforts to combat censorship across the state of Texas and the nation are ongoing. Samuels is the inaugural Youth Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week.
Gabrielle Izu (she/her) is a current International Relations and Global Studies major at the University of Texas at Austin and is passionate about community enriching volunteering and activism. She has been an advocate against discriminatory book bans since early 2021 and firmly believes that the banning of affirming books is detrimental to underrepresented communities everywhere.
Olivia Pituch (she/her) is an 18-year-old activist and member of the LGBTQ+ community. She served as Secretary and Social Media Advisor on the executive board of the Panther Anti-Racist Union, a student-run club at Central York High School. Along with her fellow officers, Olivia organized multiple protests that led to the reversal of a book ban instituted by the district school board, which removed more than 300+ books on diversity. With the need for activism, Olivia found her voice and hopes to spread this message across the country, uplifting and empowering the voices of the youth to effect positive change. She plans to continue the fight for diversity and representation by majoring in the field of Political Science at Elizabethtown College.
Shiva Rajbhandari (he/him) is a senior at Boise High and a community organizer against extremism in Idaho politics. Earlier this month, he gained national recognition after defeating an incumbent associated with far-right organizations on the Boise School District Board of Trustees. Rajbhandari has also organized students to stand up to the Idaho Lt. Governor’s “Indoctrination Task Force” and bans teaching about systemic racism in schools. As the first student and only person of color to serve on the Board, Rajbhandari is an advocate for student empowerment and teacher freedom in and out of the classroom.
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, an award-winning nonbinary activist and author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue.” The roundtable also includes Sarah Kate Ellis (president and CEO of GLAAD, “All Moms”), Daniel Haack (“Prince & Knight”), Isabel Galupo (“Maiden & Princess”), Leah Johnson (“You Should See Me In A Crown”), and Harry Woodgate (“Grandad’s Camper”).
Johnson and the panelists will discuss the disturbing rise in LGBTQ book bans and assess whether parents or the political winds are the driving force. The conversation will address the racial undertones of book bans, and the divisive nature of book banning as a point of entry into excluding people and experiences that don’t conform to rigid, homophobic, racist, and xenophobic values. Panelists will also ponder the impact of book bans on LGBTQ literature: Will they intimidate and discourage publishers and writers from producing material in the future?
George M. Johnson (Moderator), “All Boys Aren’t Blue” and “We Are Not Broken”
George M. Johnson (they/them) is an award-winning Black nonbinary activist and author of The New 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.
Sarah Kate Ellis (president & CEO of GLAAD), “All Moms” and “Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made”
Sarah Kate Ellis is President and CEO of GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization. She is a frequent spokesperson, advocate and leader for LGBTQ acceptance across all forms of media including print, television, film, social media, advertising and corporate responsibility. Ellis is author of two books with her wife Kristen Ellis-Henderson, the picture book “All Moms,” and “Times Two: Two Women in Love and the Happy Family They Made,” an autobiography about their simultaneous pregnancies and road to motherhood.
Isabel Galupo, “Maiden & Princess”
Isabel Galupo (she/her) is a queer, part-Filipina, Jewish woman with three moms and a dad (yeah, you read that right). After being an only child for 10 years, Galupo found herself an overnight oldest kid with four younger sisters; this made her really good at changing diapers but also at observing, adapting, and—at times —escaping into genre fiction. It only makes sense, then, that she grew up to be a writer, constantly drawing on her unusual family dynamic and intersecting identities to tell stories at the knife’s edge of painful insight and bizarre heart. Galupo graduated from Ithaca College as a Park Scholar with a B.S. in screenwriting and a minor in sociology, and participated in the Lambda Literary Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices in 2015. She lives in Los Angeles, where she has written on over a dozen shows for Nickelodeon, Warner Bros. Animation, Netflix, Amazon, PBS, Apple TV+, and Mattel for preschoolers and kids ages 6-11. “Maiden & Princess” is her first book.
Daniel Haack, “Prince & Knight” and “Tale of the Shadow King”
Daniel Haack (he/him) is the author of Prince & Knight and its sequel, Prince & Knight: Tale of the Shadow King, and the co-author of Maiden & Princess, all from Little Bee Books. The former was named an ALA Rainbow List Top Ten book, a Goodreads Choice Awards nominee and was named one of the best picture books of 2018 by Amazon, Kirkus Reviews and the Chicago Tribune, as well as one of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2019 and one of the Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books of the Decade (2010-2019). More recently, he wrote the two-part How Felix Found His Moxie for Wondery’s Little Stories Everywhere podcast. Daniel is also an Emmy Award-winning creative executive for children’s television and holds a B.S. from Ithaca College and an Ed.M. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Leah Johnson, “You Should See Me In A Crown” and “Rise to the Sun”
Leah Johnson (she/her) is an eternal Midwesterner and author of award-winning books for children and young adults. Her bestselling debut YA novel, “You Should See Me in a Crown,” was a Stonewall Honor Book, the inaugural Reese’s Book Club YA pick, and in 2021, TIME named “You Should See Me in a Crown” one of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time. Johnson’s essays and cultural criticism can be found in Teen Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Cosmopolitan among others. Her debut middle grade, “Ellie Engle Saves Herself” is forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion in 2023.
Harry Woodgate, “Grandad’s Camper” and “Timid”
Harry Woodgate (pronouns: they/them) is an award-winning author and illustrator who has worked with clients including Google, Little Bee Books, Bloomsbury, Andersen Press, The Sunday Times Magazine, National Book Tokens, Harper Collins, Walker Books, The Washington Post and Penguin Random House.
Their books include “Grandad’s Camper,” “Timid,” “Little Glow,” “Shine Like The Stars,” “My First Baking Book” and “The Very Merry Murder Club.”
In 2022, they won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Best Illustrated Book, as well as receiving a nomination for the CILIP Yoto Kate Greenaway Award and a Stonewall Book Award Honor from the American Library Association. Their books have also been recognized in other awards including the Polari Prize and Diverse Book Awards.
Woodgate is passionate about writing and illustrating diverse, inclusive stories that inspire children to be inquisitive, creative, kind and proud of what makes them unique.
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 Novel & Comics Round Table, American Library Association), Jamie Gregory (Upper School Librarian, Christ Church Episcopal School), Val Nye (Library Director, Santa Fe Community College), and Jack Phoenix (Manager of Collection Development and Technical Services at Cuyahoga Falls Library and Brodart’s Graphic Novel Selector).
Moni Barrette is a 16-year public librarian who expanded her expertise in libraries, comics, and relationship building through her role at LibraryPass as the Director of Content Management and Publisher Relations, where her interest in teaching grew. As co-founder of the nonprofit Creators Assemble and President of the American Library Association’s Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table, and adjunct lecturer at SDSU, she became dedicated to promoting learning through the use of comics and popular culture. Moni attends comic conventions, hosts industry networking events, and helps librarians and educators implement comics into their learning spaces.
Jamie Gregory is in her 18th year working as a high school educator, having spent her first 8 years as a high school English teacher and ten years as a high school librarian. She has been blogging for the Office for Intellectual Freedom since January 2019 and currently writes censorship articles for School Library Journal. She is the 2022 South Carolina School Librarian of the Year as well as the 2022 recipient of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table’s Eli M. Oboler Award for intellectual freedom writing.
Valerie Nye is the Library Director at Santa Fe Community College and has worked in libraries for over 25 years. She has edited two books that share stories of librarians confronting intellectual freedom challenges, True Stories of Censorship Battles in America’s Libraries (ALA, 2012) and Intellectual Freedom Stories: From A Shifting Landscape (ALA, 2020). Working on these books has allowed her to connect with librarians around the world and share stories and information about some of librarianship’s deepest held values, intellectual freedom and social justice. She currently serves as a Member on the Amigos Library Services board and as Past-President of the New Mexico Consortium of Academic Libraries. Valerie holds an MLIS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Jack Phoenix is a ravenous reader with a burning love for pop culture and balloon twisting, He writes about comics, libraries, and comics in libraries, and is the recipient of two master’s degrees, one in Library and Information Science from Kent State University and the other in English from Ohio Dominican University. He now works as a manager for a public library in Greater Cleveland, where he lives with his husband, three dogs, and pet rats.
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 right to read in their communities. Join a conversation about community organizing and fighting book bans with Cameron Samuels, Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair and student activist from Katy, Texas; Jen Cousins and Stephana Ferrell, co-founders of the Florida Freedom to Read Project; and Carolyn Foote, co-founder of Freadom Fighters.
Cameron Samuels (they/them/theirs) recently graduated from the Katy Independent School District in Texas, where they organized the FReadom Week initiative to eventually distribute a total of 700+ challenged or banned books. Once the only student to speak at school board meetings, receiving no applause while other speakers called for book banning, Samuels built a student-led movement within months by packing school board meetings and continuously outnumbering the opposition. Decisions were made to keep certain books on shelves, and while currently a student at Brandeis University, Samuels’ efforts to combat censorship across the state of Texas and the nation are ongoing. Cameron is the inaugural Youth Honorary Chair for the Banned Books Week Coalition.
Jen Cousins is a mom of four public school kids in Orlando, FL. She co-founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project in January 2022 after witnessing extreme censorship in public schools targeting the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities. In addition to running the nonprofit, she is an LGBTQ+ and students’ rights activist and has testified before Congress about the dangers of laws like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
Stephana Ferrell is a public school parent with two kids currently in elementary school. She co-founded the Florida Freedom to Read Project in January of this year to push back against the rising K-12 censorship attempts across the state of Florida. Before starting the nonprofit, Stephana owned and operated a photography business and worked in corporate training, proving this work only requires a commitment to protecting access to information and learning.
Carolyn Foote, honored as a White House Champion of Change, is a rewired/retired 29-year Texas librarian, who focuses on library advocacy, library design and technology. She is currently a cofounder of the grassroots advocacy group, the FReadom Fighters. She is a recipient of the 2019 AASL Library Collaboration Award and along with her team at FReadom Fighters, is also a recent recipient of this year’s AASL Intellectual Freedom award and the ALA Robert Downs Intellectual Freedom Award and is a frequent author and presenter on library issues.
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). All the Bright Places has been targeted for removal in multiple locations, and Breathless was one of 52 books that were removed from shelves in Utah’s largest school district at the beginning of the school year before the school board reversed course and moved the books to a restricted section of the library that requires parental permission to access. Niven will be joined by retired educator and librarian, author, and intellectual freedom expert Pat Scales (Teaching Banned Books: 32 Guides for Children and Teens; Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your School Library; Books Under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children’s Books; Defending Frequently Challenged Young Adult Books; and Encourage Reading from the Start).
Jennifer Niven is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of All the Bright Places, Holding Up the Universe, and Breathless. Her books have been translated into over seventy-five languages and have won literary awards around the world. The All the Bright Places film, starring Elle Fanning, Justice Smith, Luke Wilson, and Keegan-Michael Key, is currently streaming on Netflix, with a script by Jennifer and Liz Hannah (The Post). When she isn’t working on multiple book and TV projects, she also oversees Germ, a literary web magazine for high school age and beyond. Jennifer divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles. For more information, visit JenniferNiven.com and GermMagazine.com or find her on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Pat Scales is a retired middle and high school librarian in Greenville, South Carolina. She has also served as adjunct instructor of children’s and young adult literature at Furman University and has been a guest lecturer at universities across the nation. A First Amendment advocate, she is a former chair of ALA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee, serves on the Board of Advisors of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and is a Trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is a past president of the Association of Library Service to Children and in 2011 received the association’s Distinguished Service Award. She chaired the 1992 Newbery Award Committee, the 2003 Caldecott Award Committee, and the 2001 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Committee. She writes for Book Links magazine and writes a bi-monthly column, “Scales on Censorship,” for School Library Journal. She is the author of Teaching Banned Books: 32 Guides for Children and Teens; Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your School Library; Books Under Fire: A Hit List of Banned and Challenged Children’s Books; Defending Frequently Challenged Young Adult Books; and Encourage Reading from the Start.
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 of authors who have written about or defended intellectual freedom for young people: Jarrett Dapier, librarian and author of the upcoming release Wake Now In The Fire, a graphic novel about the censorship of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in the Chicago public school system;Ryan Estrada, co-author of Banned Book Club, a graphic novel about an underground banned book club in South Korea; Varian Johnson, author of Playing the Cards You’re Dealt and The Parker Inheritance, as well as outspoken champion for the right to read; and award winning educator and reading advocate Donalyn Miller.
Jarrett Dapier is the author of of the picture books Mr. Watson’s Chickens (Chronicle Books), Jazz For Lunch! (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum Books), and this fall’s The Most Haunted House In America (Abrams Kids). A young adult librarian with over 12 years of experience working with teens in the Chicagoland area, his stage adaptation of The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher, a book about censorship and grief, is published by the American Library Association’s Office For Intellectual Freedom in 2014 and is available for libraries and high schools to produce for free. In 2016, he was awarded the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award from the Intellectual Freedom Round Table for uncovering, distributing, and disseminating previously suppressed information regarding the 2013 efforts by high-ranking Chicago Public Schools administrators to ban the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. In fall 2023, his YA graphic novel, Wake Now in the Fire, based on the Persepolis incident, will be published by Chronicle Books illustrated by AJ Dungo. He is currently teaching a course on intellectual freedom and censorship at the iSchool at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ryan Estrada is the co-author of the Eisner-nominated, Freeman Award-winning graphic novel Banned Book Club. His upcoming books include Occulted, the true story of how banned books helped Amy Rose escape a cult, and the Banned Book Club sequel No Rules Tonight. He has made comics for Popeye, Star Trek, Garfield, and Flash Gordon. He lives in South Korea with his wife Kim Hyun Sook.
Varian Johnson is the author of several novels for children and young adults, including The Parker Inheritance, which won both Coretta Scott King Author Honor and Boston Globe/Horn Book Honor awards; The Great Greene Heist, an ALA Notable Children’s book and Kirkus Reviews Best Book; and the graphic novel Twins, illustrated by Shannon Wright, an NPR Best Book.
Varian was born in Florence, South Carolina, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. He later received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and is honored to now be a member of the faculty. Varian lives outside of Austin, TX with his family.
Donalyn Milleris an award-winning Texas teacher and independent reading advocate. She is the author or coauthor of numerous books and articles about engaging young people with reading, including most recently The Joy of Reading, coauthored with Teri S. Lesesne, and The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library, coauthored with Colby Sharp. She is cofounder of the Nerdy Book Club and founder of #bookaday.
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, “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
Banned Books Week is an annual, national celebration of your freedom to read, held September 18 – 24 this year.
As part of Banned Books Week, we’ve invited community guests to read excerpts from favorite children’s books that have recently been banned or challenged to “see what all the fuss is about.” All ages are welcome.
Banned Books Week is an annual, national celebration of your freedom to read, held September 18 – 24 this year. The theme of this year’s event is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.” Learn more about Banned Books week on our website at chapelhillpubliclibrary.org/banned-books.
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 national advocacy network of Democratic suburban parents, will discuss their campaign against book bans.
Education representatives from local school districts have been invited to speak about the impact of book challenges.
Banned Books Week is an annual, national celebration of your freedom to read, held September 18 – 24 this year. The theme of this year’s event is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
Join us as we reveal the winning Banned Books Trading Cards. Mingle with the winning artists, take home your own set of cards, and celebrate the opening of the Banned Books Week exhibit in the library’s lobby on Friday, Sept. 16. You can enjoy a beverage and snack on treats while viewing all 74 wonderful art submissions. All ages are welcome.
Banned Books Week is an annual, national celebration of your freedom to read, held September 18 – 24 this year. The theme of this year’s event is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.
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 or in-person to hear the keynote speakers Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford and a distinguished panel. There will be a display of the posters submitted by local school students.
Let’s give book bans the boot! Join a youth-focused Texas coalition for Banned Books Week 2022, as students demand a seat at the table in policymaking that directly affects their education and livelihoods. With the power of organized youth, students can make a difference in local communities.
Attend this interactive webinar to learn how to engage in the fight for an inclusive education, and stay tuned throughout the week for daily challenges on social media to engage in the fight against academic censorship.
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 in the John T. Richardson Library, Room 103 (2350 N. Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, IL). To attend virtually via Zoom, please register in advance.
