Banned Books Week 2025

Gabrielle Kaye Wilson reads from “Where the Sidewalk Ends” as part of Banned Books Week 2024.

Legendary actor, author, and activist George Takei will serve as the 2025 Honorary Chair of Banned Books Week.

“Books are an essential foundation of democracy,” said Mr. Takei. “Our ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ depends on a public that is informed and empathetic, and books teach us both information and empathy. Yet the right to read is now under attack from school boards and politicians across America.

“I’m proud to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, because I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world around me.

“Now, as an author, I share my own stories so that new generations will be better informed about their history and themselves. Please stand with me in opposing censorship, so that we all can find ourselves — and each other — in books.”

Since 2021, the American Library Association and PEN America have tracked a sharp escalation in the attempts to ban books, with thousands of unique titles targeted annually. Books by or about people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals make up nearly half of those titles. The majority of book censorship attempts now originate from organized movements and government entities—elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries in 2024.

Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has drawn attention to attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Now in its 43rd year, the theme for Banned Books Week 2025 is “Censorship is so 1984. Read for Your Rights.” 1984, George Orwell’s cautionary tale, serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.

Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay was the honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024.

Let Freedom Read Day, a day of action, will be observed on October 11, 2025. Everyone is encouraged to take at least one action to fight censorship — all you need is 5 minutes! For information about ways to participate and resources, visit bannedbooksweek.org/let-freedom-read-day.

Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for information about events, ways to participate, and promotional materials.