BISG, We Are Stronger Than Censorship Team Up for Banned Books Campaign
Your donation to the joint 'Season of Giving: Give the Gift of Reading Challenge' aims to provide some 2,000 banned books to readers across the country.
The Book Industry Study Group has teamed up with We Are Stronger Than Censorship for a $16,000 Season of Giving Challenge help provide banned books ti readers, and your pledge is needed.
Liz Bartek
The challenge, which runs through December seeks to fund the purchase and donation of 2,000 books to offset 1,000 book challenges and help ensure that readers have access to diverse, inclusive, and empowering stories. The challenge is open to everyone and every contribution—large or small—will help BISG and its partners stand up for the freedom to read.
“During this Season of Giving, BISG is proud to support We Are Stronger Than Censorship. Together, we’re giving back in the most powerful way we know—by ensuring that every reader, everywhere, has access to the stories that inspire empathy, reflection, and understanding,” said Brian O’Leary, Executive Director of the Book Industry Study Group.
Learn More, and Donate, Here...
“We’re excited to have BISG put out this challenge to turbocharge the program and offset even more book challenges," said Lee Wind, Co-Founder of We Are Stronger Than Censorship and Chief Content Officer for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). "It’s the perfect initiative for this season of giving, and we’re grateful to BISG and the community for coming together to make this happen."
Since launching in September 2024, We Are Stronger Than Censorship has raised enough money to offset 1,400 book challenges, by buying and distributing some 2,800 books. The ultimate goal, as Wind told Words & Money in a recent feature interview, to help put freedom to read advocates on offense is this current climate of book banning by making the numbers work against those seeking to ban diverse books. The thinking, Wind explained, is that if freedom to read advocates could make sure that two books were purchased and donated for every book banned, it might slow the roll of would-be book banners.
Earlier this year, Wind was named BISG’s 2025 Industry Champion, an honor recognizing individuals whose efforts have advanced the publishing industry as a whole.
