This Wednesday: atCentral with Stephen Harrigan and 'Big Wonderful Thing'

Wednesday, November 20

Doors at 6:30 PM

Begins at 7 PM

atCentral: Big Wonderful Thing

with Stephen Harrigan and Jeff Salamon

Thursday, November 20 at 7 PM

Central Library Special Events Center

RSVP here

Stephen Harrigan has devoted much of his life to exploring and explaining Texas, ever since his family crossed the Red River from Oklahoma in 1953. He's written numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, including A Friend of Mr. Lincoln and The Gates of the Alamo.

Join us for a celebration of Harrigan's latest work, a big wonderful history of Texas! Harrigan will talk about the book with Texas Monthly senior editor Jeff Salamon, followed by a book signing with book sales provided by BookPeople.

This is event is free, but advance tickets are encouraged. Doors open at 6:30 PM, with priority seating for ticket-holders. For front-row seating and priority in the author signing line, become a member of The Library Foundation.

www.utexaspress.com

Your Freedom to Read: 13 Links for Banned Books Week

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