Banned Books Week: "Censorship Is So 1984 -- Read for Your Rights"

The American Library Association and Banned Books Week Coalition are pleased to announce the theme for Banned Books Week 2025: Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights. Banned Books Week will take place October 5 11, 2025.
With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwells cautionary tale "1984" serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This years 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.
The 2025 theme of Banned Books Week serves as a reminder that censorship efforts persist to this day, ALA President Cindy Hohl said. We must always come together to stand up for the right to read.
During National Library Week, ALA released the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024 list and the State of Americas Libraries report. The majority of book censorship attempts now originate from organized movements. Pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries. The 120 titles most frequently targeted for censorship during 2024 are all identified on partisan book rating sites, which provide tools for activists to demand the censorship of library books.
https://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned