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Want to start writing fanfiction? I’m not going to tell you what to write about, but I will break it down into six simple steps. You’ll be creating stories that feature characters you love in no time at all.

All over the planet people have tried to prevent others from reading books they consider immoral, unethical or just plain dangerous – and it seems that fictional worlds aren't safe from this either.

So in celebration of Banned Books week and the tireless efforts of librarians, publishers and booksellers to protect your right and freedom to read, here are five books that have been banned, suppressed or challenged in, um, books. (Warning: Spoilers!)

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy (The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick): In The Man in the High Castle, the Nazis won WW2 and America has been taken over by the Japanese. In this alternate history there is a book called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which is in itself another alternate history in which the Allies won the War. The Nazis have banned the book because they don't win in it, and they don't want people going around getting hope that they don't have to live under Hitler's oppressive rule.

To complicate matters, although the Allies win in Grasshopper, the reality portrayed in that book is vastly different from ours – Hitler lives to be tried at Nuremberg for a start. This means that The Grasshopper Lies Heavy is an alternate history of an alternate history of our reality. Still with me? Ok, next up we have:

I have wonderful memories of hanging out at the library as a kid, I’d had access to the libraries on this list, it’s where I would have spent most my time. 

People often take for granted that musicians who write their own songs are very much like authors, except they put their stories to music. It comes to no surprise then that many musicians have published books, whether it be poems, short stories, or novels. Here are six talented musicians who have found success in the world of literature as well!