Banned Books Read-In at the Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch -- September 24.
Tuesday, September 24, 5:30 p.m.
Rock Island Public Library Watts-Midtown Branch, 2715 30th Street, Rock Island IL
Held in conjunction with the September 22 through 28 Banned Books Week – a celebration of our collective freedom to read – the Midwest Writing Center's and Rock Island Public Library's annual Banned Books Read-In will take place on September 24, with more than a dozen participants gathering at the library's Watts-Midtown Branch to read from frequently challenged works and unite in the fight against censorship.
Founded by First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug, Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, book stores, and libraries across the country. With its annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association (ALA) and Amnesty International, the event highlights the value of free and open access to information, and was designed to gather the book community – librarians, book sellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types – in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, among them those that some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
This year, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship in 2023 – a 65-percent surge over 2022 numbers – as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources. With pressure groups focusing on public libraries in addition to targeting school libraries, the number of titles targeted for censorship at public libraries increased by 92 percent over the previous year, accounting for about 46 percent of all book challenges in 2023.
Last year's 10 most challenged books were: Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe; All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson; This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson; The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; Flamer by Mike Curato; The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews; Tricks by Ellen Hopkins; Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan; and Sold by Patricia McCormick.
Those scheduled to read at this year's Banned Books Read-in include: Monica Flink (reading from Barbara Ehrenrich's Nickeled and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America); Kara Taghon (Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer); Kai Swanson (Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird); Kelly Daniels (Sherman Alexie's Diary of a Part Time Indian); Melissa Conway (Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front); River Cities' Reader employee Mike Schulz (Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower); Emily Tobin (Akwaeke Emezi's Pet); Nicole Steinbaugh (Tomie de Paola's Strega Nona); Kate Farence (Tennessee Williams' A Streeycar Named Desire); Phil Koenig (Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn); John Turner (literature by Harlan Ellison); Kai and Joey Newell; Jillian Aschliman; Adam Peters; Tyler Mitchell; Angela Campbell; and the Midwest Writing Center's executive director Ryan Collins.
The 2024 Banned Books Read-In will begin at the Rock Island Public Library's Watts-Midtown Branch on September 24 with refreshments and mingling at 5:30 p.m., followed by the readings at 6 p.m. Participation is free, and for more information on the event, call (309)732-7330 and visit MWCQC.org, or call (309)732-7323 and visit RockIslandLibrary.com.
