VINCENNES, Ind. - Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week 2018 is September 23-29 with the theme, “Banning Books Silences Stories,” which serves as a reminder that everyone needs to speak out against the tide of censorship.

Vincennes University’s Writing Center will host a Banned Books Readout on Sept. 26, 2 p.m. (EDT), at the Shircliff Humanities Center, Room E229. VU students and employees have been invited to read passages from their favorite banned books and retired Humanities professors Jack and Shar Mahoney will present an original skit titled “Carl and Edna Banned.”

Information about the VU Readout is available by contacting Kathy Barbush, assistant director of the VU Writing Lab, 812-888-5141, kbarbush@vinu.edu.

ABOUT THE BANNED BOOKS WEEK COALITION

The Banned Books Week Coalition is an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.

The Banned Books Week Coalition includes American Booksellers Association; American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of University Presses; Authors Guild; Comic Book Legal Defense Fund; Dramatists Legal Defense Fund; Freedom to Read Foundation; Index on Censorship; National Coalition Against Censorship; National Council of Teachers of English; PEN America; People for the American Way; and Project Censored. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Banned Books Week also receives generous support from DKT Liberty Project and Penguin Random House.

bannedbooksweek.org / @BannedBooksWeek

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VICKIE PUFFER, Communications Coordinator & Online Newsroom Manager
812-888-4162 office, 812-887-4635 cell, VUNews@vinu.edu, vpuffer@vinu.edu
VINCENNES UNIVERSITY, Department of University Relations, www.vinu.edu/news/newsroom