The parent writes that the book should be considered indecent under Utah’s new book banning law, after seeing the other titles that have been pulled. Read more
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Category: Banned Books
The 50 Most Banned Books in America
During the 2021-2022 school year, more than 1,600 books were banned from school libraries. The bans affected 138 school districts in 32 states, according to a report from PEN America, an organization dedicated to protecting free expression in literature. And the number of bans are only increasing yearly. Read more
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How to Battle Book Banning in Your Community
Christopher M. Finan has been involved in the fight against censorship for 35 years. He is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship and the former president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. Read more
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Judge Tosses Virginia Obscenity Cases, Declares State Law Unconstitutional
In a resounding victory for the freedom to read, a Virginia state judge on August 30 swiftly dismissed two closely-watched cases that sought to bar the public display and sale of two books alleged to be obscene under an obscure state law. Furthermore, in dismissing the cases the court struck down the Virginia law upon which the cases were brought, finding it unconstitutional. Read more
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Why Inappropriate Books Are the Best Kind
According to “Banned in the USA,” a report issued by the writers’ organization PEN America in April, nearly 1,600 individual books were banned in 26 states between July 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Read more
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Republicans are banning books about historical truths their own leaders have apologized for
Over a recent 9 month period more than 1,500 books have been banned in schools, most featuring nonwhite protagonists, dealing with racism, or addressing the LGBTQ experience. Read more
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Publisher creates fireproof edition of The Handmaid’s Tale
“To benefit PEN America’s work defending freedom of expression, Penguin Random House is proud to partner with Margaret Atwood and Sotheby’s to offer an unburnable edition of the classic, and often banned, novel The Handmaid’s Tale.” Read more
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Belarus bans George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, according to reports
Belarus, a key ally of Russia, has reportedly banned the sale of Orwell’s chilling novel on totalitarianism and Big Brother. Read more
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The Cruel Practice of Banning Books Behind Bars
Across the United States, agencies have issued an ever-evolving list of restrictions on what people in prison can read. Works by Black authors, civil rights literature, critiques of mass incarceration, books in languages other than English—all are frequently censored. (Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and books by David Duke have been allowed in some of those same prisons.) Read more
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Publishing C.E.O. Donates $500,000 to Fight Book Bans
Markus Dohle, the chief executive of Penguin Random House, said the effort “ties into the future of our democracy.” Read more
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