The American Booksellers Association and its American Booksellers for Free Expression arm are supporting Banned Books Week in a variety of ways. As ABA CEO Allison Hill says, "In recent years, Banned Books Week has been less a reminder of the history of book bans in the U.S., and more about the current attacks on freedom of expression and the right to read. Hopefully this year Banned Books Week will be a call to action for readers to oppose unconstitutional legislation, stand up to book challenges in their communities, and vote for elected officials who protect the First Amendment. Indie booksellers continue to play a critical role in this fight, and ABA and ABFE are right there with them."
With help from Ingram, the ABA and ABFE are offering printable and digital assets for the Week, including a counter card, bookmarks, a poster, and a sticker that features a checklist (yes to "Sense," yes to "Sensibility," and no to "Censorship"). Click here for more information.
The ABA will again hold a Banned Books Week Social Media Display contest.
As part of the Right to Read coalition, representatives from ABFE will be in Washington, D.C., participating in a national day of action and lobbying on Thursday, September 24. The effort aims to raise awareness about three bills in the House and Senate that, if passed, would limit access to books by prohibiting the use of federal funds from public schools for teaching about a wide variety of topics and would ban certain ideas from being contained in library books. Other participants include national and local non-profit and grassroots organizations and for-profit organizations representing students, authors, parents, librarians, educators, and publishers.
The bills--HR 7661/S 4925, HR 2616, and HR 8705--seek to restrict the use of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) funding, the largest source of federal funding to public schools. All the bills target "gender ideology" while the third also targets race. The bills could create a kind of banned list and lead to making many books financially riskier, especially children's books, by throttling a key market. It would also affect booksellers who work with schools, slowing or halting purchases by schools and book fairs.
Booksellers in in the capital area can join the coalition for the press conference and/or lobbying meetings. For those who wish to participate remotely in the Day of Action, the coalition will be distributing social graphics and messaging. For more information, click here.
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Many free speech groups are emphasizing the importance of elections and--especially this year--the midterms. The American Booksellers Association has again partnered with the League of Women Voters to help independent bookstores to get out the vote and "ensure that your community's needs are represented." The League is offering a Voters 2026 Midterm Election Toolkit as well as an online voter information tool, VOTE411.org/ABA.
And a reminder: tomorrow, September 15, is National Voter Registration Day.
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Ingram and ABFE are offering a promotion on banned and challenged books. From now through October 10, the books will be discounted 2%. Also available: banned books-themed puzzles, caps, tarot cards, and more.