“Shocking Overreaction” as School District in California Closes Libraries to Hunt for Sexual Content After Complaint
“The decision by Superintendent Rankins-Ibarra to halt all school library services in the Escondido Union School District following “the discovery” of one book alleged to be “sexually explicit” is… More
Band of Bestselling Authors Stand Against Book Bans in Florida and Nationwide
“What PEN America is doing in Florida is very important to us and our neighbors,” said Michael Connelly. “We have been astonished to see books ripped off the shelves and… More
Hollywood Artists Join Writers for Banned Books Week Day of Action Oct. 7
(NEW YORK)—More than 20 actors, writers, and artists are joining together to spread the word about book bans by creating videos about their favorite banned books, a project spearheaded… More
Support for Congressional Resolutions Condemning Book Bans and Educational Censorship
(Washington) – As the movement to ban books and censor classrooms continues to undermine free speech and academic freedom across our nation’s public schools, Representative Jamie Raskin on Wednesday… More
New Report: Book Bans Spike by 33% Over Last School Year
“The toll of the book banning movement is getting worse. More kids are losing access to books, more libraries are taking authors off the shelves, and opponents of free… More
PEN America Comments on Federal Government Appointment in Response to School Book Bans
PEN America has been at the forefront of documenting and defending against the unprecedented rise of school book bans nationwide. Texas, Florida and Missouri lead with the most books banned currently.… More
Temporary Ruling to Halt Implementation of TX Law on Book Ratings is a Victory for the Freedom to Read
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said: “We welcome this decision to temporarily halt the implementation of HB 900. This law, which forces private companies… More
Florida College Should Reschedule Photography Exhibit after Dispute Over Reasons for its Cancellation
"As a public college, Daytona has an obligation to uphold academic and artistic freedom; if the revelations in this [anonymous] letter are true, it is a democratic imperative that… More
PEN America: Calls to Remove a Book from Princeton U Syllabus Are “Highly Misguided”
If we scrubbed college campuses of any book that could cause any offense, we would be left with a fairly barren environment for academic inquiry. More
Hunt to Identify Books with “Sexual Content” Empties Some Library Shelves in FL County as Schools Open
"Empty library shelves serve as a stark symbol of the dangers of government overreach: until now, library purges have been the province of communist dictatorships and authoritarian dystopias. Now… More