Reading can and should be both a mirror and a window. It benefits us all to read far and wide, in and out of our own experience. But the effort to ban books continues to be a concern in a time of deep political divide. Fortunately, there are ways you can help keep these important books in circulation. Banned Books Week 2024 is happening now (September 22 – 28), with the theme “Freed Between the Lines.”
I believe that censorship is the enemy of freedom. By banning books, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn from the past and to envision a braver future.
Ava DuVernay, award-winning filmmaker & honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024
According to the American Library Association, 2023 saw the highest number of challenges to individual books (4,240 titles) as well as attempts to censor library materials and services (1,247). These numbers are stark (up 65% from 2022). Though the numbers have declined in the first eight months of 2024, the attempts to censor books still far exceed the number we saw before 2020.
The vast majority of these challenges are trained on books written by and about people of color or members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Now through October 22, we’re partnering with Bookshop.org to amplify banned titles. The Bookshop.org team has curated this list of books by authors currently on the banned books and censorship list. Visit the shop.
Take 15% OFF all titles in this list and use the discount code BannedBooks24 at checkout, valid through October 22!
Background of banner design by Tom Hermans on Unsplash.