In response to the steep increase in book banning and (attempted) censorship in the USA and beyond, the University of Münster’s Chairs for Book Studies (Prof. Dr. Norrick-Rühl) and American Studies (Prof. Dr. Schultermandl) have founded a “Banned Books Network Münster” (BBNM). Two postdoctoral researchers at the Chair of American Studies, Dr. Jennifer Gouck (2025 WiRe fellow) and Dr. Sarah Pyke, are co-founders of this initiative. Our purpose is to raise awareness of the increase in book banning, and to create space for engagement with banned books and the wider repercussions of these bans. Our events are inclusive in nature, and we hope to engage students, teachers, colleagues and the wider reading public with our initiative.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our previous stimulating discussions.
See below for upcoming events!

If you would like to know more and stay up to date about our events, please join our email mailing list by registering here: https://listserv.uni-muenster.de/mailman/listinfo/banned-books-network. We will only distribute network-specific information through the list. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We will share more resources here soon. In the meantime, we highly recommend the websites of PEN America and the American Library Association (ALA), which both share statistics and infographics about challenged and banned books.

Thinking of the Children: Book Bans, Censorship and Literature for Young People

REGISTER NOW! 

The conference will take place as follows:
14:00-19:00, 11 & 12 February
12:00-17:00, 13 February

To register, either use the QR-code embedded in the poster or click here.

If you have questions or would like further information, please contact Dr. Sarah Pyke or Dr. Jennifer Gouck.

Banned Books in Conversation

26 March, 18:00-20:00, SpecOps:

Aline Franzus will discuss Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer (2019). Click here to register.

Banned Books Network Münster (in the) News!

• BBNM will contribute to the EAAS (European Association for American Studies) Conference being held in Bologna, Spain, September 1-4, 2026!
  
  Panel: Un|Banning Books for Young Readers
  Panel chair: Silvia Schultermandl
  Panelists: Cedric Essi, Aline Franzus, Corinna Norrick-Rühl
  
  The panel will discuss the current debates about diversity and inclusion in the context of US books for young readers, which not only index a political rift over questions regarding the representation of LGBTQIA+ and racially minoritized groups in the US but also emerged out of an unprecedented constellation of political, social, legal, and economic conditions that have affected publishers, public schools, parents, and political figures in equal measures. The current curtailment of intellectual freedom specifically targets books for young readers, vilifies diversity initiatives, and operates through well-organized and politically influential groups such as Moms for Liberty. The year 2020 brought forth a historical reckoning in the publishing industry with its persistent lack of diversity, fuelled in part by online activism collected under hashtags such as #blackoutbestsellerlists and #publishingpaidme; that same year, the COVID-19-related experiences of involuntary homeschooling meant that many parents engaged more extensively and perhaps more critically with their children’s assigned readings and curricula. Thus, the confluence of banning and unbanning activities in online and embodied forms register the dynamic debates between ideologically different counterpublics in the US and beyond.
   
• 6 October 2025 | Bücher auf dem Index - Wie Book Bans und Verbote die Literatur bedrohen | SWR | Das Wissen | SWR
• 15 July 2025 | Zensiert fürs Mutmachen – Wie Trumps Amerika Bilderbücher ins Visier nimmt | Deutschlandfunk | Corso | Deutschlandfunk

Past Events

• 20 January 2026: Banned Books in Motion
  Film screening of Banned Together (2025) in association with the FH Münster
• 13 January 2026: Banned Books in Conversation
  Dr. Patricia Kennon from Maynooth University (Ireland) lead the discussion on Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993).
• 08 January 2026: Banned Books Reading Club
  The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was discussed.
• 11 December 2025: Banned Books in Conversation
  Prof. Corinna Norrick-Rühl the discussion on Judy Blume's Are you there God? It's Me. Margaret.
• 04 December 2025: Banned Books Reading Club
  Forever by Judy Blume was discussed.
• 06 November 2025: Banned Books Reading Club
  All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson was discussed.
• 20 October 2025: Banned Books in Motion
  Film adaptation and screening of the previously discussed The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
• 23 October 2025: Banned Books in Conversation
  Dr. Sarah Pyke lead the discussion on Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden.
• 16 October 2025: Banned Books Reading Club
  The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison was discussed.
• 03 July 2025: Banned Books in Conversation
  Dr. Jennifer Gouck (WiRe Fellow) lead the discussion on The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
• 22 May 2025: Banned Books in Conversation
  (Kick-off of the Banned Books Network Münster)
  Prof. Silvia Schultermandl lead the discussion on And Tango Makes Three by Ny Peter Parnell, Justin Richardson & Henry Cole.

We are delighted to share that our student Kareshan Mayurathan has founded a banned books book club as an adjacent event series. The dates and books can be found on the poster below: