Get Ready! Banned Books Week Starts September 26

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is urging booksellers to help publicize the hundreds of attacks on books that occur in the U.S. every year by participating in Banned Books Week, the national celebration of the freedom to read, from September 26 through October 3. ABFFE makes it easy for booksellers to participate by providing a Banned Books Week Handbook online. The handbook describes a variety of activities, simple displays, and easy events that booksellers can adapt to their own needs.

The Banned Books Week Handbook also features posters that can be downloaded and reproduced at a local copy shop for a nominal fee. This year's handbook includes two posters based on the new graphic novel adaptation of the anti-censorship classic Fahrenheit 451 (Hill and Wang).

In addition, this year, a map of book challenges and bans provides a stunning visual display of just how pervasive these threats to First Amendment rights are. The Google map of book-censorship incidents, published on the official website of Banned Books Week, displays more than 120 book challenges -- from Maine to Florida and from New York to California -- that have occurred since the beginning of 2007. The map is drawn from cases documented by the American Library Association and the Kids' Right to Read Project, which is sponsored by ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC).

For a limited time, ABFFE is discounting the price of its popular Freadom products. The Freadom T-shirt is available in four colors -- black, royal blue, charcoal gray, and forest green --for $12 ($10 for orders of 12 or more). Imprinting is available for $1 per shirt. There are also Freadom buttons, bumper stickers, and bookmarks. A small Freadom button is sold in three different colors that are sold mixed in bags of 100 ($30). A hundred bookmarks are $5. (Download an order form.)

ABFFE and the American Library Association help booksellers promote their Banned Books Week activities via www.bannedbooksweek.org. In addition to providing general information, the site features a state-by-state list of participating bookstores and libraries. Bookstores and libraries can submit details of their Banned Books Week celebrations for posting to the site at bannedbooksweek.org/signup.

For further information about Banned Books Week, contact Jamie Chosak, (212) 587-4025, ext. 13, or at jamie@abffe.com.