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 Pals: Nikki Grimes and Padma Venkatraman Discuss Challenged Books
“I created my [Dyamonde Daniel book] series so that emerging Black readers would see themselves represented in that genre.” 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
The PEN Pod: On Authoritarianism, Abortion Restrictions, and Protecting the Freedom to Learn
“They are people who deserve our support, who’ve been working as human rights defenders inside their countries, who now are faced with the loss of their livelihood.” More
Protecting the Freedom to Learn: A Banned Books Week Reading List
In this reading list, we’ve chosen to spotlight 10 of the 19 books slated for removal or suspension in the Leander Independent School District in Texas. 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