John Steinbeck banned the book from the county's publicly funded schools and libraries. It was burned in Salinas on two different occasions. In 2003, a school board in Mississippi banned it on the grounds of profanity. According to the American Library Association Steinbeck was one of the ten most frequently banned authors from 1990 to 2004, with "Of Mice and Men" ranking sixth out of 100 such books in the United States. The award of the 1962 Nobel Prize for Literature to Steinbeck was controversial in the United States. The award citation lauded Steinbeck "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as
National Steinbeck Center 40 events a year. The major events the Center is known for is the annual Steinbeck Festival, Steinbeck's Birthday Celebration, the Steinbeck Young Authors Program, and the Salinas Valley Comic Con. Other smaller and reoccurring events happen throughout the year which all tie to Steinbeck's mission and the Center's mission to encourage and support literature, the arts, and other humanities focused causes. After the deal with CSUMB in 2016, the National Steinbeck Center had to reorganize their organization. One of the main efforts embarked upon was partnerships with other local non-profits and cultural groups. The NSC's main partners, although not