Each weekday from October 10th-14th I’ll be posting a photo from one of the amazing DC-area independent bookshops to highlight Banned Book Week 2026. Today we’ll travel to Old Town in Alexandria.
Old Town Books in Alexandria is a wonderful full-service bookshop in the heart of historic Old Town. I visited the store back in July with my friend and our associate rector at St. Alban’s Parish, The Rev. Sarah Taylor-Miller. My review of the store and the book I purchased there will probably come in November. But I wanted to use today to highlight a photo the store placed on their website to bring attention to Banned Books Week 2026.
To give you a sense of the problem, nearly 12,000 (11,982) books were banned in public schools during the 2025-2026 school year, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans.
To do their part in fighting book banning, each staff member at Old Town Books picked a banned or challenged book that they love for the store display all October long.
“A few highlights are Kim’s pick, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, which has been challenged due to its frank discussions of systemic racism. Fun Home, the graphic novel/memoir by Alison Bechdel that alternates between Bechdel’s upbringing and early adulthood as she navigates dysfunctional family, evolving gender roles, and her own sexuality. And Melissa’s YA choice, Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley that has been banned for its depiction of the historical injustices, including the trauma of Indigenous boarding schools.”
Read more about the work that Old Town Books is doing to support intellectual freedom at their website.
Here are the photos I’ve posted to date:
- MONDAY: Solid State Books at National Airport (photo by Tom Mayes)
Keep reading!
More to come . . .
DJB
Photo of Books sign by Marija Zaric on Unsplash
