Contact:  Larra Clark
Media Relations Manager
312-280-5043
lclark@ala.org

For Immediate Release 
September 21, 2004                           

American Library Association announces author Judy Blume ranks
as second most censored author of past 15 years

CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) today announced that Judy Blume - who was recognized last week by the National Book Foundation for her contributions to American letters - is the second-most censored author of the past 15 years. Alvin Schwartz, who writes the Scary Stories series, tops the list. 

The ALA released the top 10 list of authors in anticipation of Banned Books Week, which starts September 25:
1. Alvin Schwartz
2. Judy Blume
3. Robert Cormier
4. J.K. Rowling
5. Michael Willhoite
6. Katherine Paterson
7. Stephen King
8. R.L. Stine
9. John Steinbeck
10. Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Five of Blume's books can be found on the ALA's list of the most challenged books of the 1990s, with "Forever" coming in eighth.  To see the full list, please visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm.

"Reading Judy Blume's books is a rite of passage for many young adults - particularly young women," said ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano.  "Not only has she written compellingly about the lives of teen-agers, but she has been a forceful voice for the rights of young people to read freely. We are grateful for her activism, as well as for her literature."

In addition to her fiction, Blume also collected and edited an anthology of short stories for young adults, "Places I Never Meant to Be: Original Stories by Censored Writers."

"We want to turn kids onto reading - to encourage them to browse freely and to respect their choices. It's up to us as adult readers to protect their right to do so," Blume said.  "I'm thankful every day for the teachers and librarians who go out on a limb - sometimes jeopardizing their own jobs - to stand up for their young readers." 

Libraries and bookstores nationwide will celebrate Banned Books Week September 25 to October 2 with special events, displays and readings - including a "read-out" featuring such celebrity readers as author Sara Paretsky, comic artist Nicole Hollander and author/poet Haki Madhabuti at Chicago's Newberry Library.

Observed since 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take for granted their precious freedom to read. More than 7,500 books have been targeted for banning through official challenges over the past decade.  For more information on the event, please visit www.ala.org/bbw2004.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the ALA, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores.  It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.