The report "Banned in the USA" was published on Wednesday and notes that 6,800 books have been temporarily or permanently removed during the school year 2024-2025. The figure is lower than the more than 10,000 books that were banned between 2023-2024, but significantly higher than a few years ago, when Pen did not even see the need to compile a report.
Around 80 percent of the bans come from Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. States that have adopted or tried to push through laws to get rid of books considered offensive.
According to Pen, Stephen King's books were censored 206 times, including titles such as "Carrie" and "The Stand". The most banned title of all was Anthony Burgess's dystopian classic "A Clockwork Orange" with 23 cases. Also, Patricia McCormick's "Sold", Judy Blume's "Forever", Jennifer Niven's "Breathless", as well as many works by Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult have been banned.
Common reasons for bans are LGBTQ themes, depictions of ethnicity and violence, including sexual violence. A growing trend, according to Pen, is that books are being removed in advance out of fear of political or legal pressure, rather than after direct complaints.
The report is being published at the same time as censorship pressure is increasing, not only from conservative activists and states, but also from federal authorities.
