Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States. The ALA releases a list each year of the top ten most frequently challenged books as reported to their Office of Intellectual Freedom.

Books on the Chopping Block is our annual 60-minute performance of dramatic readings of short excerpts taken from these books, which include widely popular and highly acclaimed works. This year, among the ten books are 2 New York Times Bestsellers, a Sheffield Children's Book Award winner, 2 Pulitzer Prize winners, and a Michael L. Printz Award for Honor Book.  City Lit has teamed up with the ALA in celebration of Banned Books Week since 2006, performing at special events, libraries and bookstores in and around Chicago.

Click on the image below to see a clip of the 2010 Read Out at Bughouse Square!

2010 cast: Gordy Andina, Chiquita Davis, Gyasi Kress & Katy Nielsen (not pictured)

City Lit Artistic Director Terry McCabe believes that concert readings of excerpts from challenged books actively celebrate the books most at risk and call attention to the would be censor's threat to an educated democracy. “Our focus is literate theatre, so we are naturally concerned by attempts to keep books away from people,” McCabe says. “We are privileged to continue our alliance with the ALA in this important work.”