The American Library Association, the McCormick Freedom Museum, and the Newberry Library invite you to join us along with ALA President Camila Alire and frequently challenged author Chris Crutcher, in a FREE event to celebrate your freedom to read! The Banned Books Week Read-Out! will take place Saturday, September 26, from noon to 2:00 PM in historic Bughouse Square, located at 901 N Clark St., in Chicago, IL.

The event features authors from the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2008, who will talk about their experiences as targets of censors and will also read from their works. Authors scheduled to appear are Sarah Brannen, author of Uncle Bobby’s Wedding; Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the Gossip Girl series; Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower; Lauren Myracle, author of ttyl, ttfn, and l8r g8r (internet girl series); and Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, co-authors of And Tango Makes Three. The CityLit Theatre Company and the Chicago Public Library’s Teen Volume Reader’s Theatre Troupe will perform dramatic readings of some of these works.

Immediately following the program, we will host a book signing and an open mic (2:00 pm to 3:00 pm). The authors and their publishers have graciously donated 100 copies of their works to give away to attendees. Musician Matt Ryd will kick-off the open mic portion of the event with censored music. If you would like to participate in the open mic portion of the event, please contact Jen Hammond at jhammond@ala.org for more information.

For more information about Banned Books Week, please visit www.ala.org/bbooks. We hope to see you at the Read-Out!