Banned Book Bingo presented by Bel Canto Books x Alder & Sage – Long Beach, CA

Bel Canto Books x Alder & Sage proudly present Banned Book Bingo, a fundraiser and awareness campaign to encourage community members to fight against book banning.

Our special guest bingo caller is Long Beach native and National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold. Sixteen of her books have been banned or challenged.

The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States, finding that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022 numbers, reaching the highest level ever documented by ALA.

Join us at Banned Book Bingo to show your support for the freedom to read, raise funds for banned books, learn how you can get involved, and win some great banned book prizes!

Early bird tickets, $45 per person through 9/13, include:

• wine + snack pairing from Alder & Sage
• bingo playing card
• bingo prize
• $10 donation to a local nonprofit

Tickets after 9/13 will be $50 per person.

Visit Bel Canto Books during Banned Books Week (9/22-9/28) to support the freedom to read!

Special thanks to Red, Wine & Blue for “working to change the world, one suburb at a time” and creating Banned Book Bingo!

ABOUT ELANA K. ARNOLD

Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children’s books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.

ABOUT BANNED BOOKS WEEK

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. The annual event highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, educators, authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas.

ABOUT ALDER & SAGE

Located in the Bluff Heights neighborhood of Long Beach, Alder & Sage serves Breakfast, Lunch and Brunch, featuring a menu with simple yet unique dishes that reflect the freshest of farm-to-fork dining.

ABOUT BEL CANTO BOOKS

Bel Canto Books is a proudly woman- and BIPOC- owned independent bookstore with three locations based in Long Beach, California, hosting author events, monthly book clubs, community events, and more. Learn more at belcantobooks.net.