Banned Books Week is here! This year, Banned Books Week focuses on comics and graphic novels. CBLDF is literally travelling across the country to defend comics, and there are events nation-wide! Today, you can join CBLDF for the official BBW kick-off party in New York City!
Several folks reached out to CBLDF to tell us about their events, and you can check them out below. Today, there are events in Georgia, Massachusetts, Montana, and New York, as well as a week-long fundraiser in Texas! The list that follows is far from complete — no matter where you live, you’re sure to find a Banned Books Week event nearby. For a longer list of events organized by state, check out http://www.bannedbooksweek.org!
Georgia
Comics Ruined My Child! Banned Books Week and Graphic Novels
Monday, September 22, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CDT
Camden Center Auditorium (800 Lakes Blvd. E, Kingsland, GA)
We will kick off the week with CCGA’s Professor Jason Tondro giving a public lecture about bans and challenges in the genre of Comics and Graphic Novels. More info
Massachusetts
When Comics Almost Died: Readers, Censors, and Innovation
Monday, September 22, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. EDT
Brookline Public Library (361 Washington Street Brookline, MA)
Sixty years ago, three events endangered comics: the publication of psychiatrist Fredric Wertham’s anti-comics polemic Seduction of the Innocent, US Senate hearings on the relationship between comic books and juvenile delinquency, and the development of the Comics Code Authority, a censorship body that restricted content. Carol Tilley, whose research into Wertham’s revealed the doctor fabricated some of his findings, takes listeners behind the scenes, to reveal this fateful year in comics history. Learn untold stories of Wertham, Senator Estes Kefauver and the kids who tried to fight the tide of anti-comics momentum. More info
Montana
Banned Books Week – Creating graphic lit in Missoula
Monday, September 22, 7:00 p.m. MDT
Missoula Public Library (301 E Main St., Missoula, Montana)
Panel discussion with Tim Daniel, Josh Wagner, Dirk Lee, Tony Gregori and others to speak on censorship hurdles and creating graphic lit in Missoula. More info
New York
Bad for You! Celebrating Banned Books Week
Monday, September 22, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. EDT
New York Public Library: Hamilton Grange Library
Are you the kind of kid who thinks it’s BAD when a graphic novel gets banned? Then get ready to be totally shocked when you find out there was once a time in this country when comic books were BURNED!
Kevin C. Pyle and Scott Cunningham will be reading from their docu-comic BAD FOR YOU: EXPOSING THE WAR ON FUN, detailing those dark days and more. They have a whole chapter on the stuff adults were once afraid of kids reading—including fears from ancient times about reading itself! You’ll also learn about how scary old fairy tales once were, as well as what keeps getting Harry Potter books banned (hint, it has something to do with the devil).
Join Kevin and Scott for their celebration of Banned Books Week (September 21-27) and find out how much fun BAD can be! More info
CBLDF’s Banned Books Week Kick-Off!
Monday, September 22 • 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
BRIC (647 Fulton Street, New York, NY)
Celebrate the Freedom to Read with the city’s greatest graphic novelists at CBLDF’s Banned Books Week Kick-Off! Join us to wind down another successful Brooklyn Book Festival, and to celebrate the opening of Banned Books Week, which this year celebrates comics and graphic novels! Mingle with comics creators and learn what you can do in your community to protect the freedom to read! This event is free to CBLDF Members and Brooklyn Book Fest partners.
Texas
Banned Books Week at Generation X Comics
September 21 – 27, 2014
Generation X Comics (3504 Harwood Rd Suite 304, Bedford, TX)
Generation X will donate an amount equal to the purchase price anytime someone buys a banned comic during Banned Books Week. Titles included in the offer are Adventures of Captain Underpants Vol. 1, Batman: The Killing Joke, Bone Vol. 1: Out from Boneville, Fun Home, Maus Vol. 1, Persepolis, Pride of Baghdad, Sandman Vol. 1, Stuck Rubber Baby, Tank Girl Vol. 1, and Watchmen. More info
Banned Books Week may be here, but you can still plan an event (or start planning for next year)! Check out these great resources from CBLDF for visual assets and ideas for Banned Books Week:
• Free Posters and Resources for Banned Books Week!
• CBLDF Banned Books Week Handbook