Out actor, author, and activist George Takei has been named honorary chair of Banned Books Week, which will take place October 5 – 11, 2025. Takei will be joined in leading the annual event by youth honorary chair Iris Mogul.
“Books are an essential foundation of democracy,” Takei said. “Our ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ depends on a public that is informed and empathetic, and books teach us both information and empathy. Yet the right to read is now under attack from school boards and politicians across America. I’m proud to serve as honorary chair of Banned Books Week, because I remember all too well the lack of access to books and media that I needed growing up. First as a child in a barbed-wire prison camp, then as a gay young man in the closet, I felt confused and hungry for understanding about myself and the world around me. Now, as an author, I share my own stories so that new generations will be better informed about their history and themselves. Please stand with me in opposing censorship, so that we all can find ourselves — and each other — in books.”
Takei is an award-winning actor, outspoken civil rights activist, GLAAD Award Winner, and New York Times–bestselling author. He was a breakout star of the Star Trek franchise and is a social media influencer to advocate for social justice, including the visibility and equality of Japanese Americans and LGBTQ people.
Takei’s award-winning New York Times bestseller They Called Us Enemy (Top Shelf Productions, 2019) uses both words and images to depict his experiences as a child imprisoned, along with 125,000 Japanese Americans, in concentration camps by the U.S. government during World War II. This graphic memoir has been targeted by censors multiple times since publication, most recently in Monroe County School District in Tennessee, where it was among nearly 600 titles removed in an attempt to comply with the state’s vaguely-worded Age-Appropriate Materials Act.
Takei’s latest acclaimed graphic memoir It Rhymes With Takei (Top Shelf Productions, 2025), follows his decision to come out at age 68. Books by and about LGBTQ people, along with books about race and racism and by authors of color, remain in the top ten of most challenged and banned books in the U.S.
Takei received GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award in 2014, named for one of GLAAD’s co-founders and the author of The Celluloid Closet. The award is presented to an out media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality.
“George Takei’s considerable wit, brilliance, and pathbreaking career make him an outstanding choice for Banned Books Week Honorary Chair,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO.
“Through his books, plays, iconic roles on TV and film, and his remarkable second act as a social media truth-teller, George speaks up for everyone’s right to be treated equally and the freedom to pursue our dreams,” Ellis continued.
“George’s story is the American story that includes immigrants and LGBTQ people, and of an accurate history when our country failed to live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all. But George never gave up. His voice and story inspire us to keep learning and fighting for a world where all stories and lives are valued.”
Iris Mogul has been named Banned Books Week Honorary Chair. Mogul is a teen who started a banned books club in her community in Florida, after the state implemented laws that resulted in the removal of hundreds of books about race, history, and sexuality from schools. Mogul continued her advocacy work as a student leader in the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Student Advocates for Speech and received an honorable mention from the Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards in May 2025.
Since 2021, the American Library Association and PEN America have tracked a sharp escalation in the attempts to ban books, with thousands of unique titles targeted annually. Books by or about LGBTQ people and people of color make up nearly half of those titles. The majority of book censorship attempts now originate from organized movements. According to ALA, pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries in 2024.
GLAAD works to amplify the efforts of local communities fighting against anti-LGBTQ book bans, and also works with Little Bee Books to publish LGBTQ picture books. One of these Little Bee Books, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, was at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court case earlier this year. GLAAD supporters are rallying to send a copy of the picture book to every member of Congress and Supreme Court Justice to raise visibility about the importance of representation of all families in public schools and for elected leaders to fight for free speech and expression, and safety for all vulnerable students and families..
Since it was founded in 1982, Banned Books Week has drawn attention to attempts to remove books and other materials from libraries, schools, and bookstores. Now in its 43rd year, the theme for Banned Books Week 2025 is “Censorship is so 1984. Read for Your Rights.” George Orwell’s cautionary tale 1984 serves a prescient warning about the dangers of censorship, and this year’s theme reminds us that the right to read belongs to all of us, that censorship has no place in contemporary society, and that we must defend our rights.
Let Freedom Read Day, a day of action, will be observed on October 11. Everyone is encouraged to take at least one action to fight censorship — all you need is 5 minutes! For information about ways to participate and resources, visit bit.ly/LetFreedomReadDay.
Visit BannedBooksWeek.org for information about events, ways to participate, and promotional materials. Follow Banned Books Week on social media (@BannedBooksWeek on Bluesky, Facebook, and X, @banned_books_week on Instagram) for the latest updates.
