This blog post is from The New York Public Library, a Unite Against Book Bans partner.
Starting May 30, in time for Pride Month celebrations, readers across the country can download the young adult bestseller Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (Bloomsbury) to take part in an all-new edition of The New York Public Library’s (NYPL) nationwide Teen Banned Book Club.
Cinderella Is Dead will be freely available across the U.S. through August 2, 2024. Anyone over the age of 13 can download the title, whether or not they have an NYPL card, without wait times through the library’s free e-reader app, SimplyE.
Plus, readers can register now to join author Kalynn Bayron, NYPL, and teens across the country for a free virtual author talk on Thursday, July 25, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Discussion topics will include Cinderella Is Dead, the rise in book bans nationally, and why it's crucial for young people to have the opportunity to see themselves represented in the books they read.
In addition to the Teen Banned Book Club, NYPL recently published a special "Freedom to Read" edition of its Teen Voices magazine, featuring the 21 winners of the Library's National Teen Writing Contest, which ran from October to December 2023. The winners were selected from almost 500 submissions from 36 states and the grand prize–winning entry—by Tara Isabel Lago, from New York—was published on Teen Vogue. You can read all the winning entries in a digital edition of the magazine.
The Teen Banned Book Club and "Freedom to Read" edition of Teen Voices are both part of NYPL's Books for All campaign, the longest and largest banned books campaign in the Library's history. The campaign launched in October 2023 during Banned Books Week in response to the alarming rise of book bans and challenges throughout the country, which have significantly impacted young adults, and to underscore the vital role that public libraries play in our democracy. The library partnered with the Unite Against Book Bans campaign and the American Library Association (ALA), the foremost national organization representing the nation’s 123,000 libraries, to get the word out about Books for All across the country.
Previous Banned Book Club selections include Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro, All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, and The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. Discussion guides and recordings of the Banned Book Club events are all available on the Banned Book Club page.
In addition, an NYC Pride special edition of the Banned Book Club, featuring an in-person author talk with Sonora Reyes on June 5, 2024, is focusing on their book The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. A discussion guide for this title is available on the Banned Book Club page, which is also where the author talk with Reyes will be livestreamed on June 5 and made available to watch on demand later. Register now for reminders about the event.
NYPL and ALA have also made available free downloadable toolkits to enable people, library systems, and book clubs all over the country to participate in Books for All and protect the freedom to read. The kits, which have thus far been downloaded by libraries, educators, and readers in 48 states, feature a “How to Get Involved” guide about ways to fight book bans, book discussion guides, button maker templates, and photo props with slogans like “I Read Banned Books,” “Read Freely,” and “Protect the Freedom to Read.” Download a free toolkit now.
If you have any questions about Books for All, please contact us: booksforall@nypl.org
