Each weekday from October 5th-9th I’ll be posting a photo from one of the amazing DC-area independent bookshops to highlight Banned Book Week 2026. In this final installment we’ll travel to Capitol Hill.
East City Book Shop located on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE in Capitol Hill was founded a decade ago to fill a gap left by the earlier closing of a beloved neighborhood bookstore. I walked down a few steps from the sidewalk and walked in to a light filled and airy space designed for people and books. Owner Laurie Gillman wanted to create a gathering space for book lovers of all ages in a neighborhood full of smart and curious people, and she has made that dream come true.
To highlight Banned Books Week 2026, East City—along with some other stores in the city—is hosting a “Banned Books Read-In.”
“East City Bookshop is thrilled to host a Banned Books Read-In in partnership with Libro.fm.
This Banned Books Week, we’re teaming up with @librofm and @SilentBookClub to host a Banned Books Read-In to protest book censorship. Join us on October 10th as we read and take action to fight book bans!
Stop by the shop, grab a book, and come read with us! Attendees will also receive a free audio copy of either Banned Together or How to Defend Books and Why.”
The shop posted covers of a number of banned books currently in the store, along with information on the Read-In.
While book bans take place across the country, the vast majority of recorded book bans this school year, according to PEN America, came from just two states: Texas and Florida. Both states have become blueprints for educational censorship, where special interest groups, state laws, and politicians have converged to pressure school districts to restrict and remove access to books. These states also have by far the most complete record of book bans, owing to public records requests from grassroots organizations, the Florida Freedom to Read Project and the Texas Freedom to Read Project.
East City Bookshop—doing its part this year in the fight against book banners—is one of the 30 bookshops I’ve visited as part of my personal 2026 DC Independent Bookstore Crawl. To see the review that came out of the visit I made to the shop, check out Installment #14.
Here are the photos I’ve posted to date:
- MONDAY: Solid State Books at National Airport (photo by Tom Mayes)
- TUESDAY: Old Town Books, Alexandria
- WEDNESDAY: Bards Alley, Vienna
- THURSDAY, People’s Book, Takoma Park
Keep reading!
More to come . . .
DJB
