(NEW YORK)— Ahead of Valentine’s Day, PEN America is releasing a list of commonly banned romance novels in public schools. Although increasingly targeted for censorship due to sexual content, popular romance fiction—often found in school libraries—can guide adolescent and teenage readers on topics of love and desire or spark discussion about consensual sexual activity versus sexual assault.
These banned romance titles include some of today’s most popular authors in the genre. The books listed below were banned in 20 or more school districts across the country during the 2023-2024 school year:
A Court of Thorns and Roses Series by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
In prior reporting, the writers and free expression organization found more than half of the unique titles banned during the 2023-2024 school year involved sex-related themes or depictions. More than 30% of these titles involved sexual assault and sexual violence and just over 5% were titles focused on sexual education, puberty, or sexual health. These book bans primarily targeted books by and about women, LGBTQ+ people, and people of color.
Kasey Meehan, director, Freedom to Read program, said: “With the backdrop of book bans suppressing more and more books about sexual experiences, female pleasure, and healthy boundaries, we want to celebrate and uplift romance writers and their vast audiences. Books, particularly young adult books, that introduce romance and sex, can help young adults navigate universal human experiences: romance, sex, desire, and love.”
In further analysis to be released later this month, PEN America will explore additional topics among banned books, including religion, non-sexual and sexual violence, and incarceration and/or negative interactions with police. This new reporting will also report in depth banned books about Black history and dystopian titles.
To counter the negative rhetoric around romance novels by right wing extremists who want them banned in schools, PEN America, in partnership with Authors Against Book Bans, launched the first in a series of interviews with romance authors. The series will celebrate the romance genre and its potential to give all readers, particularly teenage readers, support on questions of love and desire. The series will continue weekly over the coming months.
The first interview will feature bestselling author Ali Hazelwood, a fan favorite in the genre. Many of Hazelwood’s books are about women scientists, engineers, doctors, and those who work in technology, as she is a Ph.D. in neuroscience. When asked about the resurgence of the romance genre, Hazelwood said: “Because love, including romantic love, is a universal experience that a lot of people want to read about.”
Other authors to be featured in the series are: Jonny Garza Villa, Meg Cabot, Katee Roberts, Dylan Allen, Adib Khorram, Abby Jimenez, Sarah MacLean, Christina Lauren, Adriana Herrera, and Kennedy Ryan.
In its latest report Banned in the USA: Beyond the Shelves, PEN America documented more than 10,000 instances of bans in the 2023-2024 school year— nearly triple the number from the previous school year, when the organization recorded 3,362 bans. Overall, since 2021 when the censorship crisis began, PEN America has counted nearly 16,000 instances of book bans nationwide. The organization’s Index of Banned Books is a searchable database by state, school district, author, and title.
PEN America’s documentation is a key resource for authors, readers, students, teachers, parents, activists, elected officials, and journalists. Spurred by conservative activists and organizations, this censorship has spread into nearly every state. Educational censorship imposed through state laws and policies, together with book bans, amounts to what the organization calls the “Ed Scare,” a movement to ignite false moral panic about public education that has led to censorship unseen since 1950s McCarthyism and the Red Scare.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, STrimel@PEN.org, 201-247-5057