US school book bans reach record 11,982 in a year, PEN America says

Public schools in the United States recorded 11,982 book bans over the past year, the highest annual total since PEN America began tracking removals five years ago, the organisation said in a report published Monday. The cases affected 7,370 individual works.

The Associated Press reported that more than 4,500 of the affected titles appeared on the list for the first time, ranging from Charlotte Brontë’s 19th-century novel “Jane Eyre” to Sui Ishida’s “Tokyo Ghoul” manga series.

Many of the bans took place in Florida and Texas, where restrictive laws have been enacted and politicians and conservative activists have pressed for books to be removed. PEN America also said school district administrators are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to help decide which books to withdraw.

Books dealing with race, racism, sexuality and gender identity remained the most common targets of challenges, the report found. PEN America said bans limit students’ access to a range of views, voices and literature.

Stephen King’s books were removed 312 times, making him the most frequently targeted author for the second year in a row. Titles affected included “The Shining” and “The Green Mile.”

The most frequently banned individual title was Patrick McCormick’s novel “Sold,” about a girl sold into sexual slavery in India; PEN America recorded 25 removals. Other commonly targeted books included Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Speak” and Ellen Hopkins’ “Crank.”

The report was released during Banned Books Week, when events at schools, libraries and other venues across the country draw attention to censorship efforts.

PEN America and the American Library Association have both reported sharp increases in book bans since the early 2020s, but use different methods to count them. PEN includes books removed temporarily, while the association counts only titles permanently withdrawn. The library association’s latest report, published in April, recorded about 5,600 instances of bans in the previous year.