Edible Banned Books Festival
About this event
The University Libraries are pleased to present the 2025 Edible Banned Books Festival Tuesday, October 7th from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at the north end of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center breezeway. Come view and vote for your favorite imaginative, book-themed (food-based) treats while learning about censorship, the history of book bans, and why the freedom to read matters more than ever. Whether you're a baker, a reader, or simply curious, this event is sure to feed your mind!
Learn more about banned and challenged books by visiting the Libraries Banned and Challenged Books webpage.
The event celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. Each fall semester the University Libraries Outreach Committee, faculty and staff host the Edible Banned Books Festival to show their shared support of the freedom to read. Banned Books Week helps draw local and national attention to the harms of censorship. Banned Books week is organized nationally by the American Library Association (ALA). It will be celebrated October 5 – 11, 2025.
ALA's theme for Banned Books Week 2025: “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.”
With the escalation in attempts to ban books in libraries, schools, and bookstores around the country, George Orwell’s cautionary tale "1984" serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship. This year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.
“The 2025 theme of Banned Books Week serves as a reminder that censorship efforts persist to this day,” ALA President Cindy Hohl said. “We must always come together to stand up for the right to read.”
During National Library Week, ALA releases the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024 list and the State of America’s Libraries report.
Want to learn more about how the Libraries celebrates Banned Books Week or want to see some of the edible creations with their book covers visit this Nevada Today story recapping the 2024 event.
Additional information
- Attendance type: In person
- Cost: Free
- Event type: Community Outreach, Social Events, Observances & Celebrations