Random House, Inc. Supports Banned Books Week 2011

For almost 30 years, Banned Books Week has been held across the U.S. during the last week of September. The annual event celebrates the freedom of Americans to read content of their choosing by drawing attention to local-community banned or challenged books.

Random House, Inc. has long been deeply engaged in fighting against all forms of reading censorship. With many of its authors and titles being subject to removal from libraries or school curriculum in communities across the country, Random House Children’s Books division in particular has long been a leading voice advocating the freedom for people to choose and consume books at their own discretion from a very young age. Among the tools they have created and made available to the public is a “First Amendment First Aid Kit” on its website, with helpful ideas on how to respond to local censorship. (http://www.randomhouse.com/banned).

This year, Random House, Inc. has created a display in its New York headquarters to raise awareness among its colleagues about the issue. Centrally located in the lobby of its 1745 Broadway headquarters, the display showcases a cross-divisional selection of banned books published by the respective Random House imprints. As recently as last month, a New Jersey school district bowed to complaints by parents about the allegedly inappropriate content of Haruki Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood” (published by Vintage Books) by taking it off their previously approved summer reading list.

Random House, Inc. continues to be actively involved in promoting the freedom to read, working together with booksellers, libraries, schools, and Banned Books Week sponsors such as the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression, and the Association of American Publishers. Through its continued support of these institutions’ ongoing efforts, Random House takes a strong stand in support of its authors and readers across the country who are prevented from exercising a fundamental American right of being read in a time where the technological and format evolutions of book publishing has made their creative output more widely accessible.