Banned Books Week is the annual national celebration of the freedom to read, which raises awareness about censorship and freedom of expression, and each year KVML dedicates a week of activities to enlighten, entertain, and educate. As a main programming element we invite an artist, educator, or other passionate visitor to become our Banned Books Week Activist to live in the museum behind a wall of real banned books in protest of the infringement of the right to free expression. This year’s theme is Civic Engagement, and we are honored to have Indianapolis poet Manon Voice as “Activist in Residence” to engage with our Banned Books Week visitors. Your weekly pass allows virtual access to the events listed below, as well as a free in-person admission to the museum. You will be provided with online access information prior to each event.

In addition to Voice’s residency, other confirmed programming includes:

• Sunday, September 27, 2:00 p.m.: Securing the Vote: Women’s Suffrage in Indiana: exhibit and virtual presentation by Indianapolis Business Journal Managing Editor Leslie Weidenbener.

• Monday, September 28, 6:00 p.m.: Free speech in the Cancel Culture: Participants share their thoughts on communicating in society these days and share a passage from their favorite banned book. Look forward to hearing from poet Manon Voice, Professor James Madison, Mayor Joe Hogsett, and others.

• Tuesday, September 29, 6:00 p.m.: A History of Protesting for Change: Reading and discussion with Abbie Hoffman biographer Dan Simon, poet Manon Voice, IUPUI Professor of Education Dr. Lasana Kazembe. Order your copy of “Run, Run, Run: The Lives of Abbie Hoffman” here: https://kvml.square.site/product/run-run-run-the-lives-of-abbie-hoffman/346?cs=true

• Wednesday, September 30, 6:00 p.m.: Radical Reading Circle with IUPUI Professor of Education Dr. Lasana Kazembe, featuring the work of James Baldwin to introduce this on-going program.

• Friday, October 2, 6:00 p.m.: Slaughterhouse-Five Graphic Novel Event: Virtual reading and interview with Ryan North, author, and Albert Monteys, illustrator, of the new Slaughterhouse-Five graphic novel. To pre-order your copy of the graphic novel, visit our online gift shop: https://kvml.square.site/product/slaughterhouse-five-graphic-novel-illustrated-by-albert-monteys-and-written-by-ryan-north/337?cs=true

• Saturday, October 3: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Release of KVML’s annual literary journal So It Goes with contributors and artists reading and showing their work. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Youth Writing Program Launch: workshops include Writing for Graphic Novels with author Ryan North; Writing for Change with author and professor Dr. Lasana Kazembe; and Writing for Fun with youth author John David Anderson.