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PEN America Book Ban Index Data

PEN America Book Ban Index Data

Our experts have been collecting data from school districts around the country since 2021.

A stack of twelve books of various colors and sizes, arranged vertically on a wooden surface, with blurred bookshelves in the background. The book titles are partially obscured by black bars, suggesting they belong to a banned book list.
Book cover of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, featuring bold orange and black geometric shapes with the title and author’s name in large, stylized white and orange text.

2024-2025 Index of Book Bans

This year’s data is broken into three separate indices that analyze the data by book title, by school district, and by statewide bans.

2024-25 Index 2025 Analysis
Book cover of Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, featuring two overturned chairs and a desk on a classroom floor—an evocative image for a novel often discussed amid book bans, with the author's name and title prominently displayed.

2023-2024 Index of Book Bans

We identified trends in bans that predominantly targeted books with themes related to race, sexuality, and gender identity. 

2023-24 Index 2024 Analysis
Book cover for Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, featuring the title in large, smoky red letters against a dark, swirling background. The author’s name and a bestseller note appear at the bottom in red and orange text.

2022-2023 Index of Book Bans

Over 40 percent of all book bans occurred in school districts in Florida—and with over 1,400 recorded book ban cases, Florida had the highest number of book bans and largest number of school districts (33) removing books. 

2022-23 Index 2023 Analysis
Book cover of Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, often challenged in recent book bans, showing a person standing in water with their reflection below, surrounded by nature in muted earth tones. The title and author’s name are overlaid.

2021-2022 Index of Book Bans

Over the 2021–22 school year, what started as modest school-level activity to challenge and remove books in schools grew into a full-fledged social and political movement, powered by local, state, and national groups.

2021-22 Index 2022 Analysis

Help PEN America Fight Book Bans

Animated illustration of a protest sign with changing messages against a bold red background. The text alternates between Protect, Your Right, To Read, spotlighting Banned Books Week 2024, with a PEN America logo in the corner.

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.