The American Libraries Association's annual celebration of the right to read
September 2022
‘We’ve moved backwards’: US librarians face unprecedented attacks amid rightwing book bans
From active shooter trainings to cancelled bookmobiles, librarians are caught in the crossfire of a conservative censorship craze
September 2018
Further reading
From Lolita to Winnie-the-Pooh: Juno Dawson on the best banned books
From the ‘unrestrained pornography’ of Nabokov’s classic to Harry Potter’s witchcraft … the This Book Is Gay author looks at literary works that have fallen foul of censors
October 2017
A book banned for promoting peace
Letters: Theodora Wilson Wilson’s anti-war novel The Last Weapon was published in 1916 and banned a year later
September 2017
‘Write no more’: 10 books that were banned
Banned Books Week: 'In 2017, censorship comes from an outraged public'
September 2016
Books blog
My trans picture book was challenged – but the answer to hate speech is more speech
Jessica Herthel
Banned Books Week launches with call to read books the 'closed-minded' want shut
Banned Books Week 2016: the 10 most challenged titles – in pictures
The banning of books in prisons: 'It's like living in the dark ages'
September 2015
Children's books
Books for teenagers should reflect real life - and that includes sex and swearing
Ted Dawe, whose novel Into The River has been banned in New Zealand due to swearing and sexual content, explains why censoring teen books doesn’t make any sense
Author Lauren Myracle calls on overprotective parents to stop banning books
With Banned Books Week set to start in the US, the writer of the TTYL series says adults should ‘trust the teens they’re trying to protect’
Banned Books Week 2015: the 10 most challenged titles – in pictures
New Zealand protests planned in solidarity with banned book
Henrietta Lacks biographer Rebecca Skloot responds to US parent over 'porn' allegation
September 2014
Reading banned books: your stories of literary rebellion
You told us: Our readers share their stories of reading banned books – from the Feminine Mystique to Catcher in the Rye
Book cover art quizzes
Banned Books Week quiz: which titles made censors hot under the collar?
Quiz: This week we're celebrating the freedom to read, with Banned Books Week. But can you tell which titles raised the censors' ire? Take a look at our visual clues to answer our challenging quiz
Texas school bans seven 'obscene' books in banned books week
Reading banned books: share your stories of literary rebellion
Bone author Jeff Smith speaks out ahead of US Banned Books Week
To mark the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, we asked readers to send us a photo of their favourite books which have been censored or banned. Take a look at the dangerous books on readers' shelves from Zola's Nana to Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye
Books blogBanned Books Week 2013: Readers' favourite censored titles – in pictures