For the second year in a row, the Banned Wagon--powered by Penguin Random House and in partnership with Unite Against Book Bans (UUAB), Little Free Library, and First Book--is visiting bookstores and libraries during Banned Books Week--and beyond--in areas in the South and Midwest where books have been banned and censored. This year the Banned Wagon is visiting new cities and more than doubling the number of stops to nine from four last year. The tour started yesterday and runs until October 15.
During the tour, the Banned Wagon will feature a selection of 20 books that are currently being banned and challenged across the country and will distribute free copies (while supplies last) to event attendees in each city. Attendees will also receive resources from UABB about how to take action to protect the right to read in their communities.
For those not on the tour route, the Banned Wagon is expanding its reach through its Save Our Stories donation initiative. With each scan of the QR code featured on the outside of the wagon and within related materials, a book will be donated to a community in need through a partnership with First Book. Hundreds of bookstores and libraries across the country will also receive Save Our Stories fliers and resources from UABB via Banned Book Action Boxes. In addition, the Banned Wagon has again partnered with Little Free Library to drop banned books at more than 50 Little Free Libraries along the tour route. In these ways, the Banned Wagon will make an estimated 20,000 book donations to communities across the country.
Alyssa Taylor, director of brand marketing at PRH, said, "We're excited to hit the road again with the Banned Wagon and team up with Unite Against Book Bans, Little Free Library, First Book and our bookstore and library partners to reach some of the communities most impacted by this critical issue and get more books into the hands of readers of all ages. Books help us understand ourselves and the world around us. We all deserve the opportunity to read, think, and learn freely.”
The Banned Wagon started yesterday at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, Iowa. Then tomorrow, Tuesday, it stops at the Milwaukee Central Library; moves on to the Woodson Regional branch of the Chicago Public Library on Friday; and to 4 Kids Books & Toys, Zionsville, Ind., on Sunday. Next week, the Banned Wagon visits the Lakewood Public Library in Cleveland, Ohio, on Wednesday, and Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, Va., on Saturday, October 5. The following weeks, it will visit the Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, N.C., on Tuesday, October 8; the Lynx Books, in Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, October 11; and Black Pearl Books, Austin, Tex., on Tuesday, October 15.