Banned Books Week, ran last week during 22–28 September 2024, with the theme “Freed Between the Lines.”
This annual event celebrates the freedom to read, spotlights challenged books and advocates for open access to information across the book community. Sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), Banned Books Week is primarily an American event with a message that resonates with readers and libraries worldwide.
The week culminated with Let Freedom Read Day on Saturday, 28 September, encouraging everyone to take action against censorship. Whether by reading a banned book, raising awareness, or helping to defend the right to read freely.
Explore some recommendations and read one of those books as a reminder that you always have the #FreedomToRead at your library.
Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of the Alley, translated by Peter Theroux (AUC Press, 2015).
Status: Previously faced censorship but is no longer banned.
Since its first publication in Egypt in 1959, Children of the Alley has sparked controversy, banned at times, pirated, and even sold under the counter, while at other times being allowed. The novel ignited intense debates, provoked secular and religious outrage, and followed Mahfouz throughout his career, leading to an attempt on his life. Available in Egypt at the AUC Bookstores
Available worldwide in The Naguib Mahfouz Centennial Library, the definitive collection of the translated works of Naguib Mahfouz.
The Story of the Banned Book: Naguib Mahfouz’s Children of the Alley by Mohamed Shoair, translated by Humphrey Davies (AUC Press, 2022).
Status: Discusses banned books.
This award-winning account discusses the story of the most controversial novel by Naguib Mahfouz, Children of the Alley, and the fierce debates that it provoked, which ultimately led to its ban.
The book is both a gripping work of investigative journalism and a window into some of the fiercest debates around culture and religion to have taken place in Egyptian society over the past half-century.
A Nose and Three Eyes: A Novel by Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, translated by Jonathan Smolin (Hoopoe, 2024).
Status: Previously faced challenges.
Ihsan Abdel Kouddous (1919–90) is one of the most prolific and popular writers of Arabic fiction of the twentieth century, his controversial writings and political views landed him in jail more than once. The novel quietly critiques the strictures put upon women by conservative social norms and expectations, while a subtle undercurrent of political censure was carefully aimed at the then-Nasser regime. As such, it was both deeply controversial and wildly popular when first published in the 1960s.
The Book Smuggler: A Novel by Omaima Al-Khamis, translated by Sarah Enany (Hoopoe, 2021).
Status: A literary fiction account that discusses banned books.
The Book Smuggler offers a powerful look at banned books by exploring the historical context of censorship and the search for knowledge during a time of intellectual upheaval. Al-Khamis connects Mazid’s personal journey with broader themes of philosophical questions and societal strife, showing how books can serve as both sources of freedom and objects of oppression. The novel highlights the importance of preserving access to literature.
The novel won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2018 and was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
No Knives in the Kitchen of this City by Khaled Khalifa, translated by Leri Price (Hoopoe, 2016).
Status: Banned in Syria. Khalifa (1964–2023) was a prominent Syrian writer, regarded as one of the most distinctive storytellers in Syria. His deep love for his homeland was evident in his work, which often defied conventions and broke taboos. Khalifa courageously critiqued bureaucracy and the regime, resulting in a form of self-imposed exile within his own country, where all his books were banned. His novel No Knives in the Kitchen of This City explores the degrading and destructive impact of Syria’s dictatorship on the lives of a family from Aleppo. The novel was awarded the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2013, shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2014, and nominated for the American Literary Translators Association’s National Translation Awards in the prose category in 2017.
