Banned Books Week was initiated by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982 in response to an increasing number of challenges in the US to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. Taking the US initiative as inspiration, the UK edition is now in its third year.

The theme in the US this year is “Banning Books Silences Stories” you can read more about what’s happening there and download tools for your own events here.

In the UK, the campaign has started with a censored summer reads list and a weekly poll to find the nations favourite banned books. You can read more about the campaign and download materials at their site here.