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By EVPL Staff

Banned Books Week is September 22-28 this year.  To celebrate, EVPL is pitting eight of the most famous banned or challenged books of the 20th century against the top eight of 2023. Starting Tuesday, September 3, you can visit any EVPL location, or scroll down on this blog post, to cast your vote for which banned books you think should move on to the next round. The bracket will update each Monday. On Saturday, September 28, we’ll learn which banned title EVPL loves the most!

You can learn more about these commonly challenged books below.

JUMP TO: Vote for your favorite Banned Book | Frequently challenged or banned titles | More about Banned Books Week | Beyond the Bracket

And the winner is…

After four weeks of voting, EVPL’s favorite banned book is…

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky!

Colorful graphic announcing 'Banned Books Week Bracket Winner!' The winner is 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky. The image includes the book cover, which features a yellow background with the title and author's name, and a small image of a person's legs dangling. The cover notes it's a '#1 New York Times bestseller' and '20th anniversary edition'

Frequently challenged or banned titles

Classic Titles • 20th Century

Modern Titles • 2023

Why celebrate Banned Books Week?

The first Banned Books Week was held in 1982 as a response to the rise of book bans and challenges in schools, public libraries, and more across the United States. The goal is to bring attention to censorship attempts and to stress the importance of free access to information. Banned Books Week also provides a way for the literary communities most affected by these challenges – teachers, librarians, booksellers, etc. –  to come together and exchange ideas and support. Every year is given a theme and this year’s theme is Freed Between the Lines. Everyone can find freedom in books, but only if efforts to seek that freedom remain unfettered. 

It can be argued that Banned Books Week is an important celebration now more than ever. According to the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, 2023 faced the highest number of individual book challenges and bans since they began tracking their data in the 1990s. The number of titles targeted in 2023 was also over double the amount of the previous year. It’s important to keep in mind as well that this data is just a snippet of what may actually be happening since not all challenges are reported to the ALA or covered in the media.

Almost half of the books banned or challenged in 2023 were written by, or feature the lives and experiences, of marginalized communities. Why is it so important that these books remain readily available to everyone despite opposition? The answer can perhaps be found in this final quote by Rudine Sims Bishop in her article “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors,”

“When there are enough books available that can act as both mirrors and windows for all our children, they will see that we can celebrate both our differences and our similarities, because together they are what makes us all human.”

Beyond the Bracket

Want more ways to be Freed Between the Lines this September? Check out these other programs celebrating Banned Books Week at EVPL!

EVPL Staff

EVPL Staff


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