"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Monday, September 28, 2026

Banned Books Week

Next week is "BANNED BOOKS WEEK". Americans will highlight the annual event October 4 - 10 with the theme “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read,” featuring artwork by Hyesu Lee, Loveis Wise, and Mikey Burton.

Honorary chairs include:

  • Bess Kalb (author of the Buffalo Fluffalo series)
  • Tony Weaver, Jr. (Weirdo)
  • Youth honorary chairs: Marshall Romero and Azeemah Sadiq
    bannedbooksweek.org                                                                                                                                  Key Events and Activities

Organizations such as ALA, PEN America, and the American Booksellers Association will host events, panels, screenings, and community actions. Examples include:

  • Virtual and in‑person discussions on censorship
  • Screenings of The Librarians documentary
  • Panels featuring banned authors
  • Community action events like Let Freedom Read Day on October 10, 2026
    pen.org

Resources and Participation

  • ALA Store: Posters, bookmarks, stickers, and merchandise
  • Digital kits: Available for libraries, schools, and bookstores
  • Physical kits: Distributed to participating bookstores (limited supply)
  • Advocacy tools: Templates, guides, and resources to support intellectual freedom
    bookweb.org

Context: Book Challenges

The 2026 campaign also responds to rising censorship:

  • ALA tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, with 5,668 titles banned—the highest number ever recorded.
  • Nearly 92% of challenges were initiated by organized pressure groups.
    bannedbooksweek.org

Banned Books Week 2026 serves as a major annual effort to defend intellectual freedom and highlight the escalating challenges to the right to read. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Banned Boks Week is an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read and highlights the value of free and open access to information. The theme of this year's event is "freed between the lines".

The Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged books list is compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) and is based on or derived from communities across the United States. You can also view previous lists by year as well at OIF. 

The list of the most banned books for 2026 will be available in April of 2026. However, some books have been repeatedly banned or challenged throughout history. If you're curious about the most frequently banned books of all time in America, here is the 100 most frequently challenged books by decade | Banned Books. If you'd like to know the books that were most challenged of 2025, click here. Ten of the most frequently banned in high schools:












  • The Color Purple by Alice Walker
    Call Number: PS3573.A425 C6 1982
    ISBN: 0156028352
    Publication Date: 2003-05-28





















If you would like more information about banned and challenged books, contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org. Another god source of information on banned books is the "Libraries and Center for Academic Technology" site by Butler University: https://libguides.butler.edu/c.php?g=34189&p=217684

How about you? How many of these banned books have you read? How do you feel about the idea of banning books in schools and libraries?
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