University of Kwazulu-Natal

6 Key Points On Book Bans From New Pen America Report

Bonisiwe Shabane
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6 key points on book bans from new pen america report

The Administration promised free expression. The results were anything but more freedom. With more than 22K instances since 2021, the bans have become normalized. Thu. December 4 at The Strand Bookstore in NYC DREAMing Out Loud is a paid, tuition-free creative writing workshop series for migrant writers.

Local censorship tactics are being adopted on the state and federal levels These books top PEN America's list of the books most often challenged and banned from school classrooms in the U.S. during the 2024-2025 school year. PEN America hide caption PEN America released its list of the most-banned books of the 2024-2025 school year on Wednesday – and warned that the number of books challenged or banned in public school districts across the country... The group dedicated to free expression counted 6,870 bans during the past academic year.

While that's down from a total of 10,046 bans imposed during the 2023-24 school year, it's still a sharp rise from the period of 2021-2023, which averaged just under 3,000 incidents of book banning... PEN America defines a school book ban as "any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct... According to the new report, the most-banned book in the country in the 2023-24 school year was Anthony Burgess' 1962 dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange, followed by Patricia McCormick's 2006 young adult title Sold,... The third book on the list is Jennifer Niven's YA coming-of-age novel Breathless. PEN America's report found 6,870 instances of book bans in 2024 and 2025. Books bans in public schools have become a "new normal" in the U.S., escalating since 2021, according to one advocacy group.

In a new report, PEN America said the federal government has emerged in 2025 as the newest force fueling campaigns to restrict materials related to race, racism and LGBTQ+ issues. There were 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts in the 2024-2025 school year, the report said. PEN America works to promote freedom of expression in the literary space. According to the report, which was released on Wednesday ahead of Banned Books Week (Oct. 5 to 11), Florida had the highest number of book bans with 2,304, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622. "A disturbing 'everyday banning' and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years.

The result is unprecedented," said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America's Freedom to Read program. In News by Porter AndersonOctober 2, 2025 The leading message of this year’s PEN America ‘Banned in the USA’ report is about an insidious rise in ‘normalization’ of censorship. <img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-212500 lazyload" src="https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/710-top-image-for-PEN-America-2025-report-ftw.jpg" alt="" width="710" height="468" srcset="https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/710-top-image-for-PEN-America-2025-report-ftw.jpg 710w, https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/710-top-image-for-PEN-America-2025-report-ftw-300x198.jpg 300w, https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/710-top-image-for-PEN-America-2025-report-ftw-100x66.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px" /> Image: PEN America By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson <img decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-91734 lazyload" src="https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PEN-America-logo-lined-300x126.png" alt="" width="250" height="105" srcset="https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PEN-America-logo-lined-300x126.png 300w, https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PEN-America-logo-lined-100x42.png 100w, https://publishingperspectives.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PEN-America-logo-lined.png 406w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" />Classifying the year between July 2024 and June 2025 as “the fourth school year of...

PEN America's latest report shows nearly 23,000 book bans in US public schools since 2021 and nearly 7,000 in the 2024-2025 year. Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. Follow her on Instagram @heykellyjensen. In the run up to Banned Books Week, October 5-11, PEN America has released their latest report on book bans over the last school year.

Their findings continue to highlight what anti-censorship have been saying for years: the attacks are getting bigger, going higher, and continuing to happen at a whirlwind pace. Before exploring the information in “The Normalization of Book Banning,” it’s worth providing a couple of important details. First: PEN defines a book ban as the removal of a book from the school shelves. This ban may be temporary or permanent; the removal is counted as a ban, as the material is unavailable for use. Second: PEN’s numbers are from reports of school book bans reported directly to them and those reported in the media. This means that there are likely additional book bans happening in schools, done either through quiet/silent censorship and/or simply not reported or accounted for.

The data does not include books banned in public libraries nor prisons. So what does the latest report find? Starting at the top level, PEN found that since 2021, nearly 23,000 titles have been banned across 45 states and 451 public school districts. Nearly 23,000 Cases of Book Bans Across 45 States and 451 School Districts Since 2021 (NEW YORK)— In a new report documenting public school book bans over the 2024-2025 school year, PEN America cites alarming censorship pressures on school districts including: new federal efforts to restrict education that amplify... “Censorship pressures have expanded and escalated, taking on different forms – laws, directives, guidance that sow confusion, lists of books mislabeled as ‘explicit’ materials, and ‘do not buy’ lists,” said Kasey Meehan, director of...

“A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years. The result is unprecedented.” This unfettered book banning is reminiscent of the Red Scare of the 1950s while the report notes: “Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from... Between July 2024 and June 2025, the fourth school year of the book ban crisis nationwide, PEN America counted 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts.. For the third straight year, Florida was the No. 1 state for book bans, with 2,304 instances of bans, followed by Texas with 1,781 bans and Tennessee with 1,622.

Together, PEN America reports nearly 23,000 cases of book bans across 45 states and 451 public school districts since 2021. A free speech advocacy group warned that book censorship in public schools across the United States has become "rampant and common," with book bans increasing significantly over the last few years. Though book censorship is not a new issue, the United States has seen a sharp rise in book bans and attempted bans since 2021. PEN America's “Banned in the USA" report, released on Oct. 1, recorded about 6,800 instances of books being removed from schools during the 2024-2025 academic year. While the new number is down from the more than 10,000 bans reported in the 2023-2024 school year, PEN America noted that it was still an uptick from previous years when the advocacy group...

Since July 2021, PEN America has documented more than 22,800 cases of book bans across 45 states and 451 public school districts. According to the report, the systematic removal of books from schools and school libraries in many parts of the country has resulted in the "normalization and routinization of censorship" in public education. PEN America cited "alarming censorship pressures" on school districts, including recent federal efforts to restrict education, continued attacks on LGBTQ+ identities, and state-mandated book bans. Just days after President Donald Trump took office in January, the U.S. Department of Education called book bans a "hoax" and rescinded all department guidance that had suggested school districts' "removal of age-inappropriate books from its libraries may violate civil rights laws."

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