As the crisis of textbook bans grows, PEN America is bringing together writers, readers, and advocates to defend the freedom to read, holding events in cities across the country

(NEW YORK) — With new numbers revealing a staggering increase in textbook bans during the 2023-2024 school year — more than 10,000 cases nationwide — PEN America is mobilizing writers, readers, and activists for Banned Books Week September 22-29 to oppose censorship and support the freedom to read for all.

The writers and free expression organization, with partners across the country, will host readings, lectures, youth summits, an art show and other events throughout the week. Events will feature award-winning authors Rex Ogle, Elana K. Arnold, Abdi Nazemian, Kalynn Bayron, Ryan La Sala, journalists Kelly Jensen from Book Riot and Mike Hixenbough from NBC News and Grammy-winning songwriter Joanie Leeds, who will be performing songs from her album FREADOM, based on banned children’s books, in Coral Gables, Florida. In addition, there will be conversations open to the public with librarians, booksellers, educators, censorship scholars, and literacy and literature advocates who are leading the fight against book bans. Events will be held in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Coral Gables, Florida, Austin and Dallas, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, And Farmington, UtahMagic City Books, a bookstore in Tulsa, will exhibit paper tissues made from shredded banned books by artist and activist Ellis Angel in a show titled The censorship measure: interweaving for intellectual freedom.

Here you will find all planned events.

This year, PEN America’s preliminary record of book bans shows a dramatic increase in books being removed from classrooms and libraries, with more than 10,000 bans for the entire 2023-2024 school year (July 2023-June 2024), led by Florida and Iowa. Researchers expect this number, more than double the previous school year, to rise as books move into the final stretch before release later this fall. This wave of censorship has targeted books ranging from biographies and history to young adult novels and picture books. In a heightened censorship tactic, PEN America found that increased hyperbolic rhetoric about “porn in schools” was used to justify banning books about sexual violence, LGBTQ+ identities, and books by women and non-binary authors.

On September 23, PEN America will release a memo examining book bans during the 2023-2024 school year. Final figures on banned books by state and district, as well as a comprehensive analysis of the content of banned books, will be released later in October, along with PEN America’s Annual Index of textbook bansa searchable database of every instance of books banned by school districts. Additionally, PEN America documents the ongoing trend of how books, particularly romance fiction and books by women, have been targeted by the conservative censorship movement based on falsehoods about “pornography” in schools. Similarly, the book banning movement has continued to target books about race and racism, books by authors of color, and books with LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The result is the removal of books that could reflect students’ real-life experiences, expose them to new worlds and perspectives, or help them cope with trauma and violence.

“When PEN America began documenting the rise of book bans in schools in 2021, few of us could have imagined that the censorship frenzy of a vocal minority would escalate into a crisis of this magnitude,” said Kasey Meehan, Director of Freedom to Read at PEN America. “Despite polls showing that most Americans oppose book bans, the number of book bans has skyrocketed from one school year to the next. This Banned Book Week demands that we unite to turn the book ban around by saying, ‘No More.’ The rising generation of students is being robbed of the books that can nurture and guide them through their formative years simply because a misguided movement has caught the ear of politicians eager to stoke culture wars. Enough is enough.”

September 22-29 is National Banned Books Week. During this week, PEN America will join with advocacy groups such as the American Library Association, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Little Free Library, National Council of Teachers of English, National Coalition Against Censorship, PFLAG, and many more individuals and groups to raise awareness of censorship efforts and defend the freedom to read.

Since the organization began tracking bans in 2021, dozens of states have passed or debated laws restricting the freedom to read, leaving teachers and librarians feeling pressured to limit children’s access to information. PEN America has mobilized ordinary citizens to stand up to this censorship and the intolerance and exclusion that underlies it.

Check out our guide to learn how you can resist book bans in your community.

About PEN America

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free speech in the United States and around the world. We champion the freedom to write and recognize the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the freedoms that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.