Book Bans Rising Rapidly in the U.S.

Book bans are on the rise as the public school year draws to a close and one report says nearly a third of them are a direct result of new restrictive state laws.

In new PEN America report released Thursday, PEN America writes from July to December 2022, there were 1,477 book bans directed at 874 different titles. Among the most targeted books were “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe and “Flamer” by Mike Curato, both of which address self-discovery and gender identity.

In many states, school districts are reacting to new laws that dictate what books can be available in schools or new policies to add or review materials. The most restrictive bans are in five states: Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina.

The report also acknowledges that the closing of entire school libraries indicates that the true scale of book censorship could be even worse than it appears.