Texas Governor Invokes ‘Pornography’ to Ban Books, Threaten Criminal Action Against Librarians and Teachers
PEN America condemns the governor’s actions as a politically-motivated exercise in censorship and intimidation that threatens to ban books and criminalize teachers and librarians doing their job. More
PEN America Denounces Texas House Committee’s Investigation into School Districts’ Books on Race, Sexuality, and Gender
The investigation comes at a time when books addressing these issues are being challenged in schools across Texas. More
Book Ban in Pennsylvania School District Sets Troubling Precedent for Access to Diverse Literature
Students, teachers, and parents in York, PA have staged protests this month over an ongoing ban in the district of a set of books and other materials related to… More
Texas School District Strikes More Books From Reading Lists
A Texas school district announced this week that it would remove or suspend nine books from its secondary school book club readings lists. More
Letter: Organizations Demand Prison E-Book Readers Drop Access Fees During COVID-19
TO: Dave Abel, President and CEO of Aventiv Technologies, Inc (parent company of Securus Technologies and JPay) Deborah Alderson, CEO of Global Tel Link (GTL) We, the undersigned, are a coalition of… More
Tennessee’s Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act Would Censor Books, Jail Librarians
“This bill would empower a small group of people to act as morality police for entire communities and would punish libraries and librarians who act to safeguard the fundamental… More
Proposed Book Banning Bill in Missouri Could Imprison Librarians
(New York, NY) – A bill proposed in Missouri this month represents a transparent, shameful attempt to legalize book banning in public libraries within the state, PEN America said… More
PEN America: Kansas Prison Book Ban Repeats State’s Prior Mistakes
“Kansas’ decision to eliminate their banned books list seemed like something to celebrate. But this new list of banned books suggests a Pyrrhic victory." More
Pay-Per-Minute E-Readers in West Virginia Prisons Jeopardize Access to Literature
“If you want to demonstrate how misguided prison policies towards access to literature have become, this serves as a perfect example." More
PEN America Welcomes Ruling to Revise Book Restriction Policies in Arizona Prisons
"The ruling out of Arizona is a significant step forward for the First Amendment and for our fight for access to literature in sites of incarceration." More