Iris Mogul is this year’s Banned Books Week Youth Honorary Chair.

Iris Mogul. Photo courtesy of Iris Mogul

Mogul, a freshman at the University of California–Santa Cruz, is originally from Florida, where as a high schooler she started a banned books club at a local bookstore.

Mogul continued her advocacy work during high school as part of the National Coalition Against Censorship’s (NCAC) Student Advocates for Speech program. As her banned books club attracted adults, not peers, she enjoyed the NCAC program that connected her to people her age.

“The NCAC program was talking to other people who are in a classroom and have similar experiences,” Mogul says.

Each month, NCAC hosted a Zoom meeting with guest speakers and breakout rooms for discussions.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, they're really thoughtful people out here, and it’s nice to be able to talk to them.’”

As a NCAC student advocate, she spoke and wrote about book banning, political censorship in the AP U.S. history curriculum, and the failing humanities education in Florida. Last Banned Books Week, she took part in the Miami bookstore Books & Books musical Sing for Freadom event. 

For this year’s event as Youth Honorary Chair, Mogul did an interview with actor, activist, and 2025 Banned Books Week Honorary Chair George Takei. The conversation will be posted on Banned Books Week YouTube page on Tuesday, October 7.

Mogul is also moderating a Zoom panel with youth advocates from organizations in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas on Wednesday, October 8. 

“The idea is to have each panelist pick a banned book that they didn’t get to read in high school and imagine what a conversation in a classroom about the book could be like, how that could benefit students, and what kind of themes and revelations could come about,” says Mogul. “A lot of times conversations about book bans feels like big numbers—hundreds of books banned; millions of people impacted. I feel like sometimes the books themselves get lost. So, I think it’s important to remind people what’s being lost when books get banned.”

As Mogul begins her college education and continues her advocacy work, she has a plea for her peers to read more, even as she acknowledges that it isn’t easy.

“Reading is hard, it’s hard to make time,” she says. “But it really is a muscle to practice. Look at it as a mindfulness exercise. You have to set aside just a few minutes every day or every other day, whatever works for you. Eventually, it becomes easier to focus. It brings so much to people’s lives. That’s why book bans are so dangerous.”