Tell us your story

Do you feel like books are routinely banned, challenged or pulled off the shelves off your school library without due process?

We’d love to hear from you.

Have you recently attended or held a banned books event? Have one planned?

Please get in touch.

Tell us your story—your experience with censorship, attending a read-in, or discovering the richness of reading a book that’s been banned. Please include photos if you feel comfortable sharing them. If you prefer, you can record a short video of then upload it to youtube.com, and send us the link here.

We will include some of these stories on our blog and help you stand up for freedom of speech if you need back-up.

You can also work to push for greater openness at your school. Ask for a copy of the review policy and process for challenged books. Ask for a record of the books challenged over the past few years. Organize a few students to go speak at a school board meeting.

Here are a few tips:

1. Research what the current policies are. What books have been banned?
2. Organize a small group to attend a school board meeting. You want at least one ally. It’d be ideal to have a group of 10-20 people appear before the board.
3. Find out the when the next school board meeting is and request an opportunity to speak.
4. Prepare your presentation, and keep it short: 5 to 10 minutes. Time this ahead of time. Be concrete about what you’re asking for.

These resources will help.