This year's Convergence will feature a banned book giveaway that will include copies of Two Degrees, the climate-themed book by Alan Gratz that was banned by the Kutztown Area School District. Gratz will appear at our festival on October 1st at 6 p.m. with Joslyn Diffenbaugh, the KASD student who started a Teen Banned Book Club.
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BOOKS ARE BEING BANNED FROM SCHOOLS AT A RATE OF 100 TITLES PER MONTH
The Convergence coincides with the beginning of National Banned Books Week.
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The American Library Association's Censorship by the Numbers infographic provides a snapshot of the growing wave of attempted book bans in our libraries and schools.
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PEN America maintains an Index of School Book Bans that tracks bans occurring in schools across the country.
Unfortunately, we had nearly 900 titles to choose from for our giveaway for just the first half of 2023. We selected a list of 20 titles we can purchase in bulk for our giveaway, but we need your help!
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Bring a new or gently used copy of a banned book to the Convergence on October 1 to drop off at our Banned Books table.
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Donate to the funds we will use to purchase copies of the titles below.
1984: George Orwell
And Tango Makes Three: Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Beloved: Toni Morrison
Brave New World: Aldous Huxley
The Call of the Wild: Jack London
Cat's Cradle: Kurt Vonnegut
Color Purple: Alice Walker
Fahrenheit 451: Ray Bradbury
Go Tell it On the Mountain: James Baldwin
Grapes of Wrath: John Steinbeck
The Handmaid's Tale: Margaret Atwood
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou
Invisible Man: Ralph Ellison
The Lorax: Dr. Seuss
The Jungle: Upton Sinclair
Native Son: Richard Wright
Slaughterhouse Five: Kurt Vonnegut
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Zora Neale Hurston
Two Degrees: Alan Gratz
Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak