Embedded Files
Banned Books Week is an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and draws attention to the harms of censorship. Legendary actor/author/activist George Takei has been named Honorary Chair of Banned Books week which will take place October 5-October 11, 2025.
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has drawn attention to attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. The theme for Banned Books Week 2024 is “Freed Between the Lines,” an observance of the freedom we find in the pages of books and the need to defend that freedom from censorship.
taken from bannedbooksweek.org
The Top 10 Most Challenged Books Of 2023
Number of challenges: 106
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Number of challenges: 82
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Number of challenges: 71
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, sex education, claimed to be sexually explicit
Number of challenges: 68
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, LGBTQIA+ content, rape, drugs, profanity
Number of challenges: 67
Challenged for: LGBTQIA+ content, claimed to be sexually explicit
Number of challenges: 62
Challenged for: rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content
Number of challenges: 56
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, profanity
Number of challenges: 56
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, drugs, rape, LGBTQIA+ content
Number of challenges: 55
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, sex education, LGBTQIA+ content
Number of challenges: 53
Challenged for: claimed to be sexually explicit, rape
Banned Books Week
Banned Books Week
October 1-October 7, 2023
According to the American Library Association, or ALA, its Office For Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has been "documenting attempts to ban books in libraries and schools since 1990. OIF compiled this list of the most banned and challenged books from 2010-2019 by reviewing both the public and confidential censorship reports it received."
Some of the books are banned and/or challenged because of their "LGBTQIA+ content, sexual references, religious viewpoints, content that addresses racism and police brutality, and profanity. " Although the reasons differ, the censorship of literature in libraries share a common result: the violation of our First Amendment rights.
Check out censorship by the numbers, including who initiates challenges, where challenges take place and what types of books get challenged most. Also, take a look at the top 13 most challenged books of 2002.
PROGRAMS
Authors and Advocates on Fighting Book Bans
October 4, 2023 • 12:00 p.m. CDT • Webinar
Join author John Green (Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars), writer and illustrator Mike Curato (Flamer), librarian and Texas FReadom Fighters co-founder Becky Calzada, and Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels for a conversation about the impact of book bans and the ways in which they have taken action to fight censorship. The program will close with a short Q&A. Sign up here.
LeVar Burton LIVE in Conversation with Da’Taeveyon Daniels
October 4, 2023 • 7:00 p.m. CDT • Instagram Live (@banned_books_week)
Beloved reading advocate, writer, and television and film star—and Banned Books Week 2023 Honorary Chair—LeVar Burton will discuss his anti-censorship work and literacy advocacy with Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels during this rare live event, which will stream on Instagram. Follow @banned_books_week, and join us October 4, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. CDT.
Rally for the Right to Read: A Banned Books Week Event
October 5, 2023 • 1:00 p.m. CDT • Webinar
Join Penguin Random House, Booklist, and Unite Against Book Bans for a special Banned Books Week event as we premiere the video of Ibram X. Kendi’s motivating and moving speech from Rally for the Right to Read at the 2023 ALA Annual Conference. Introduced by Tracie D. Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association, in conversation with Chris Jackson, EVP, Publisher, & Editor-in-Chief of One World—this hour-long webinar will celebrate the right to read and librarians’ role in providing access for all. Representatives from Unite Against Book Bans will also join the webinar to share resources and offer a myriad of ways that viewers can join in the fight for the freedom to read.
Ten lucky LIVE webinar attendees will win a full set of Ibram X. Kendi’s books for their library. Register now!
A Seat at the Table: Youth Advocates on Fighting Book Bans
October 5, 2023 • 7:00 p.m. CDT • Webinar + Instagram Live
Some of the strongest voices in the fight against book bans are the students that censors claim they are protecting. Join Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair Da’Taeveyon Daniels for an inspiring roundtable discussion about youth advocacy in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, and how that work can inform opposition to censorship around the country. Join us on Instagram (@banned_books_week) or register here.
LET FREEDOM READ DAY
Saturday, October 7, will mark Let Freedom Read Day, the first Banned Books Week day of action. From calling decision-makers to checking out or buying banned books, to writing letters and more, everyone is encouraged to do at least one thing to defend the right to read and to speak on behalf of those who ensure access to information. For information about ways to participate and resources, visit bannedbooksweek.org/let-freedom-read-day/
BANNED BOOKS WEEK ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If you attended the ALA Annual Conference in June, you might have had a chance to read a banned book from a very large chair! Throughout Banned Books Week, we’ll be uploading the videos recorded by Sage Publishing, an invaluable partner in the defense of intellectual and academic freedom. Visit the Banned Books Week YouTube account to see all the fabulous read out videos!
Keep your eye on Instagram throughout Banned Books Week – in addition to the live program with LeVar Burton, you can expect some exciting content from advocates. Follow @banned_books_week, @uniteagainstbooksbans, and @americanlibraryassociation.
BOOKMOBILES
The Freedom to Read Foundation is proud to partner with Penguin Random House, Little Free Library, and PEN America for The Banned Wagon: A Vehicle for Change. During Banned Books Week, the bookmobile hand out copies of banned books in some of the most affected communities, including Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Houston, Texas.
The American Federation of Teachers, the African American Policy Forum, Banned Books Week, Bookshop.org, House of SpeakEasy, and the Urban Libraries Council are supporting The Banned Books Tour 2023, a bookmobile organized by The New Republic. The tour kicks off at the Brooklyn Book Festival, running from September 24 to October 2, and journey through the following cities:
Brooklyn, NY Pittsburgh, PA Washington, D.C. Daytona, FL Miami, FL Tallahassee, FL Jacksonville, FL Norfolk, VA Springfield, MO Lexington, KY Dallas, TX Austin, TX San Antonio, TX
Find the latest information about ALA’s Banned Books Week programming, book bans and challenges support at ala.org/bbooks.
Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for information about Banned Books Week events and other programs, ways to participate, and promotional materials. Follow Banned Books Week on social media (@BannedBooksWeek on X and Facebook, @banned_books_week on Instagram) for the latest updates.
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