Banned Books Week (Sept. 21-27) is the book world’s annual
celebration of our right to choose and have access to the books that we want to
read. Libraries, bookstores, and the online book community will use this week
to host events, highlight banned books, and spotlight the conversation about
the real and pressing issue of book censorship in communities across the
nation.
This year the Banned Books Week National Committee has
chosen to emphasize the censorship, banning, and challenging of comics and graphic
novels because “Despite their serious literary merit and popularity as a genre,
they are often subject to censorship,” Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books
Week National Committee, said in a statement about this year’s effort.
UT Press wants to be a part of this effort. We hope you’ll
think about not only the impact that banned books have had on you, but the
consequences for communities that deny access to certain books. We hope you’ll
show your support to those who stand up year-round to protect your freedom to
choose the books that you want to read. This year we present to you a list of
13 things you can read, watch, check out, or do, to get engaged with Banned
Books Week 2014.
This article details a case this summer in which the
College of Charleston in South Carolina was threatened with budget cuts for
featuring a graphic novel, Fun Home,
on an optional summer reading list
21 stories about comics that have been banned in the US
