PEN America is in court fighting book bans in Tennessee 

In April 2025, PEN America joined three students and their parents as plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the Rutherford County Board of Education, challenging book removals and restrictions that violate the First Amendment rights of students to receive information and of authors to free expression. 

As a membership organization, PEN America is able to challenge the removal and restriction of books written by its author members. The lawsuit includes specific books that students cited that they wanted to read  as well as 53 books banned in the school district, written by 32 PEN America members.

Ensuring that students have access to books on a wide range of topics and a diversity of viewpoints is a core function of public education, and essential to fostering a pluralistic, democratic society by preparing students to be thoughtful and engaged citizens. 

The lawsuit alleges that the Rutherford County Board of Education violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors by removing their books as a result of a Rutherford Board of Education policy banning “sexually explicit” books. The Board removed or restricted a total of 126 titles, including Beloved by Toni Morrison, Melissa by Alex Gino, and Forever… by Judy Blume. 

In removing books, the school board has ignored guidance of library materials specialists and instead relied in part on reviews from Book Looks, a now-defunct website developed by individuals associated with Moms for Liberty, a right-wing group behind much of the rise of book banning across the country. Book Looks provided ratings for books, penalizing books as inappropriate if they contain, among other things, references to gender identity and sexual orientation or so-called “inflammatory” rhetoric about race.