Frequently Banned Books Featuring Transgender Stories
In national efforts to ban books and restrict content on LGBTQ+ characters and themes, stories on transgender individuals and characters are commonly challenged and banned, making up about 9%… More
Book Bans Are a Fact of Life for Incarcerated People. They Shouldn’t Be. We Can All Fight Back
Tell the New York City Board to Corrections Not to Restrict Book Deliveries to Prisoners By Moira Marquis In Texas, Kwaneta* is denied a copy of Good Housekeeping magazine because mailroom… More
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel Responds to Remarks by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that Book Bans Are a ‘Hoax’
If we take Gov. Ron DeSantis at his word that he is simply aiming to protect students from porn and sexualized texts, then the approaches and methods being legislated… More
Sweeping Ban on Certain Topics for Library Books in League City, TX has “Harmful Implications”
Jonathan Friedman, director of Free Expression and Education programs at PEN America, issued the following comments: "Restricting the purchase and circulation of library materials by government edict is anathema to… More
Letter to Duval County, FL Schools from PEN America and We Need Diverse Books— Signed by 70 Authors—Calls for Return of 176 Book Titles Pulled from Classroom Libraries
(NEW YORK)—In a letter sent to Duval County Public Schools in Florida, PEN America and We Need Diverse Books, along with 70 authors, questioned the removal of 176 book… More
PEN America Finds Missouri Schools Banned Nearly 300 Books Since August, in Response to New Law Criminalizing “Explicit Sexual Material”
The letter reminds school district officials that, “Book bans limit opportunities for students to see themselves in literature and to build empathy for experiences different from their own. They… More
PEN America Urges NO Vote By Greenville, S.C. County Council on Vaguely-Worded Resolution to Censor Childrens’ Books in Libraries
Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America’s Free Expression and Education program, made the following comments: “If passed, this resolution would be an exercise in censorship--ordering the Greenville County Library System… More
PEN America Applauds Congressional Resolutions Condemning Book Bans and Affirming the Right to Free Expression in Schools
"Book bans are a blatant affront to free expression, the lifeblood of our democracy,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs. “Encroachments… More
New Report: 2,500+ Book Bans Across 32 States During 2021-22 School Year
“While we think of book bans as the work of individual concerned citizens, our report demonstrates that today's wave of bans represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being… More
Virginia State Judge Affirms First Amendment Rights in Ruling on Obscenity Lawsuit Targeting Books
“This decision is a victory for our Constitution and the vast majority of Americans who believe in preserving a free society and unfettered access to literature. The open exchange… More
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