Banned Books Week is here! Banned Books Week (September 18th-24th) is an annual awareness campaign of the American Library Association. As we know, Banned Books Week is every week for people incarcerated in prisons, jails, and detention centers across the country. Every day, people inside face ridiculous and repressive restrictions to what literature they can access.
We know that the most repressive censorship and book banning in this country happens behind bars. That’s why the work of our volunteers is so important and why we’re so excited about a Banned Books Week matching grant happening this year! A generous donor has offered to match the total of all books purchased from our independent bookstore wish lists (or in-store displays) during the week of September 18-24th.
Please consider shopping from the BTP shelf at one of these local bookstores stores if you live in the Seattle area:
If you’re on social media, find us on Facebook at @seattlebtp, Instagram: b2pseattle, and Twitter: @B2PSeattle
Check out this video from the Banned Books Bee at Couth Buzzard: https://twitter.com/couthbuzzard/status/1573444349446467585 Use these hashtags to amplify the campaign and find other similar projects going on this week: #BeatTheBan #BeatthePrisonBookBan
Check out this interview about book banning in carceral institutions: https://pen.org/jeanie-austin-and-patricia-prewitt-an-interview/
If you’re in the Bay Area, check out the Prisoners Literature Project for the participating bookstores there:
Banned Books Week 2022 – #BeatThePrisonBookBan