Book Bans
PEN America tracks book bans and fights censorship in public schools and libraries across the country.
Books are under profound attack in the United States. Since the fall of 2021, PEN America has counted more than 10,000 book bans in public schools. And everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history. PEN America pushes back against censorship and the intolerance and exclusion that undergird it.
Banned Books Week 2024 (Sept 22-28)
Join PEN America and a coalition of education and rights organizations in fighting against censorship and book restrictions across the country. You can send letters to your elected officials, learn more about fighting bans in your community, even get some swag!
What you need to know:
PEN America recorded nearly 10,000 instances of book bans from July 2021 to the end of the 2023 school year.
37% of the banned books had characters of color or themes of race and racism. 36% had LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
Florida and Texas lead the country in number of bans, but the crisis has spread to 41 states and 247 public school districts.
Research & Resources
Cumulative book bans in the United States, July 1, 2021 – December 31, 2023
Primer: The Latest on Book Bans
PEN America has documented thousands of book bans since 2021, when the scope of censorship expanded dramatically, tied to directives from elected officials & pressure from local groups. Hear from our book ban expert, Kasey Meehan.
Research & Resources
Learn more about PEN America’s research on book bans and find out how to fight back against book restrictions.
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Banned Books Week 2024
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PEN America Index of School Book Bans – 2022-2023
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Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis
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5 Ways to Fight Book Bans
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What Is a Book Ban? And More Frequently Asked Questions
Latest Blogs & Commentary
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Craftivisim: In Crafting A Better World, Diana Weymar Shows How Creativity Can Inspire Change
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Memo on School Book Bans from PEN America
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PEN America Free Expression Advocacy Institutes Train the Next Generation
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The State of Book Bans: Utah’s ‘No-Read List’
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Local no longer: 4 new laws and policies bring book banning to the state level
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“Thank you for not giving up on Florida”: A rallying cry at the Unified Voices Summit in Orlando
Join the fight against book removals, restrictions, and bans across the U.S. Support PEN America and stand with banned authors, beleagured librarians and embattled educators.