Banned Books Week 2008 will kick off in Chicago, with a Read-Out! The event will feature popular banned or challenged authors and local Chicago celebrities on Saturday, September 27, from noon to 4 p.m., at 401 N. Michigan Ave., Pioneer Plaza.

Each year since 2002, the Office for Intellectual Freedom has hosted a Read-Out! event to kick off Banned Books Week. The Read-Out! features a continuous reading of banned or challenged books, and the first event was first held right out on Huron Street, as some of you may recall. ALA staff read aloud from their favorite books and we were honored to have Studs Turkel and Sara Peretsky read with us as well.

This year, things are a little bigger. Not only do we have some well-known banned or challenged authors joining us – Judy Blume, Lois Lowry, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Stephen Chbosky, and Lauren Myracle will be in attendance, among others – but the event also will feature our very own Ilene Cooper! These authors will read from their own books or from their favorite books that have been banned or challenged. Keith Michael Fiels has graciously agreed to again serve as the Read-Out’s emcee.

We hope you will be able to join us for this year's event! The Read-Out! will be held this Saturday, September 27, from noon to 4:00 p.m. at Pioneer Plaza in downtown Chicago. Authors will be signing their books and a limited number of books will be given away for free. For more information about the event, please visit our Web site at www.ala.org/bbooks and click on the events page. We hope to see you there!

Judith Krug, ALA's office for Intellectual Freedom (see video clip below)