Events in NYC, LA and Around the Country Include Authors, Filmmakers and Entertainment Figures
(NEW YORK)— As book bans continue to spread at an unprecedented pace– according to PEN America’s latest report—the writers group is urging the public to speak out to defend the freedom to read at public events nationwide during Banned Books Week and beyond. The group’s events start Fri., Oct. 3 and continue through Oct. 11. Event details here.
The mobilization to strip books from public school libraries and classrooms—predominantly over topics from sexuality and race, racism and Black history to LGBTQ+ identities— has been met with a groundswell of public resistance nationwide since 2021. Most Americans oppose efforts to restrict books in public schools and opposition is loud and growing with coalitions forming to fight back and protect the freedom to read. PEN America’s new report found that of the 87 districts impacted by book bans this year, the public responded in opposition in 70 of those cases, either individuals, groups or entire communities.
PEN is encouraging more Americans to take a stand and offers a list of actions, from participating in local school board meetings and writing to local and state elected leaders to oppose book bans to taking to social media to spread the word about banned authors that have inspired them.
Kasey Meehan, PEN America’s director of the Freedom to Read program, said: “Only public pressure can reverse this disastrous and worsening trend that is robbing young people of ideas and viewpoints. Books can open people’s minds and help them interpret their own experiences in new ways that allow them to empathize with the experiences of others. The right to read must be protected. We are encouraging everyone to take a stand and take action to prevent censorship, which not only violates authors and students rights under the U.S. Constitution but deprives students of the full education they need to navigate the world as it exists.”
For Banned Books Week, the organization has scheduled a series of talks, workshops, discussions and film screenings to mark the week and beyond, with a special convening in Orlando, Florida (the No. 1 state for book bans) on Nov 1. The Book Ban Fight: From Stories to Strategy, will bring together librarians, teachers, students, parents, authors and others for a working full day session to generate action-oriented plans to defend against censorship.
The week’s events include a screening Fri., Oct. 3 at New York City’s Film Forum of The Librarians, the acclaimed documentary film in which librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and First Amendment rights. The film will be introduced by PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman. The Q&A, featuring director and producer Kim A. Snyder, as well as librarians Audrey Wilson-Youngblood and Martha Hickson, will be moderated by Juju Chang, Co-Anchor ABC News, Nightline. A second screening and discussion will follow at Film Forum on Sat., Oct. 4.
PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director for U.S. Free Expression, will join the roster of speakers at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Oct. 6 event, Unscripted: A Night Against Censorship, Featuring George Takei. Takei, the pioneering actor, author and activist, is honorary chair of Banned Books Week this year.
On Oct. 7, at 5-7:30 pm at the Los Angeles Central Public Library, PEN America will be a co-presenter of an advance screening of Gen V Season 2 Episode 6, followed by a discussion with the show’s executive producer Eric Kripke and author George Johnson, whose memoir, All Boys Aren’t Blue has been banned in numerous schools. The Prime Video program reflects on timely issues and this episode involves the young heroes taking refuge in an abandoned library. The discussion will be moderated by Van Lathan, the television co-host, producer and podcaster.
On Sat., Oct. 11, PEN America is co-presenting with the Eleanor Roosevelt Center this year’s Eleanor Roosevelt Awards for Bravery in Literature, recognizing authors whose works advance human rights. Ten honorees include best-selling author Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), who will receive the Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award and will be interviewed on stage at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Tickets open to the public are available here.
In addition, PEN America’s Los Angeles Director Allison Lee will participate in a Q&A Oct. 9 following the screening of The Librarians at 7:30 p.m. at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles. Director Kim Snyder also will present at the Q&A. The film will also screen Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Laemmle Town Center Encino; Oct. 11 and 12 at 11 a.m at Laemmle Claremont; Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Laemmle Noho, Hollywood, and Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Laemmle Glendale, Glendale
Last Wednesday, PEN America issued the latest report in its Banned in the USA series documenting book bans. The report found book bans are becoming rampant and being “normalized” in K-12 public schools. Over the 2024-2025 school year, researchers counted nearly 7,000 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts.
Since it began tracking bans in 2021, PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 cases of book bans across 45 states– a trend it says is unmatched since the Red Scare of the 1950s.
Learn more: https://pen.org/book-bans/
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing 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 liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.