Banned Author List 2025: Stephen King, Sarah J. Maas, Jodi Picoult

The most banned author in U.S. public schools in the 2024-2025 school year was the prolific bestselling novelist Stephen King, with 206 instances of book bans and 87 titles affected. Other popular authors, including Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult, have been targeted repeatedly for multiple works, as documented in PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans.

PEN America has documented nearly 23,000 instances of book bans in public schools nationwide since 2021, a number never before seen in the life of any living American. During the 2024-2025 school year, the works of the 10 most frequently banned authors accounted for 13% of all instances of book bans. 

In the 2024-2025 school year, book bans affected the works of almost 2,600 artists, including 2,308 authors, 243 illustrators and 38 translators. The majority of the authors whose books are overwhelmingly targeted often explore themes with race and racism, gender identity and sexuality, or depict sexual violence in their work.

Most Banned Authors of the 2024-2025 School Year

1. Stephen King, 206 instances of book bans
   In several school districts, King’s books were swept from shelves. Works including King’s bestsellers It and Christine and even his craft memoir On Writing were subject to book bans.
2. Ellen Hopkins, 167 instances of book bans
   Hopkins’ Crank was sixth on the list of the most frequently banned books of the 2024-2025 school year, Identical, Perfect, Tilt, and Tricks were also frequently banned.
3. Sarah J. Maas, 162 instances of book bans
   Two books in the Sarah J. Maas Court of Thorns and Roses series were among the 10 most banned books of the 2024-2025 school year. Five more of her books were banned in 12 or more districts.
4. Jodi Picoult, 62 instances of book bans
   Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes, about the moments leading up to and the devastating aftermath of a school shooting, was the 10th most frequently banned book of the 2024-2025 school year, after being the most frequently banned in the previous year. Other banned titles included My Sister’s Keeper and Picture Perfect.
5. Yüsei Matsui, 54 bans
   Japanese manga artist Yüsei Matsui’s Assassination Classroom series was taken off shelves in eight different school districts. Graphic novels have been a particular focus of book bans.
6. Elana K. Arnold, 52 bans 
   Elana K. Arnold’s Damsel was tied for the 10th most frequently banned book of the 2024-2025 school year. Red Hood and What Girls Are Made Of were also banned in more than 12 districts each.
7. P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast, 47 bans
   P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast is one of several “romantasy” authors affected by frequent book bans. Among the titles affected are several from their vampire-themed House of the Night series, including Marked and Betrayed.
8. Atsushi Ohkubo, 45 bans
   Manga artist Atsushi Ohkubo is the author of the popular Fire Force and Soul Eater series, both of which have faced bans.
9. Lauren Myracle, 43 bans
   Young adult author Lauren Myracle has had numerous titles, including l8r g8r and The Infinite Moment of Us, banned in districts across the country.
10. Laurie Halse Anderson, 40 bans
    Laurie Halse Anderson’s young adult novel Speak has been a target of censorship since it was published. Shout and Twisted are among her other banned titles.

Other authors whose work was banned more than 20 times in the 2024-2025 school year

Help PEN America Fight Book Bans

PEN America’s research reveals that there have been more than 22,800 book bans in 45 states since 2021. Your support is critical to the fight against book bans. Please donate today.