Image: PEN America
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
The States’ ‘Banned Books Week’ runs October 5 to 11
Since 2021, according to PEN America‘s latest research, the United States has seen almost 23,000 cases of book bannings in 45 (of 50) states and in some 451 school districts.
Classifying the year between July 2024 and June 2025 as “the fourth school year of the book-ban crisis nationwide, PEN America’s research program counted 6,870 instances of book bans in 23 states and 87 public school districts, with Florida in the lead (2,304 instances), followed by Texas (1,781 instances) , and Tennessee (1,622 instances).
Timed to precede the annual Banned Books Week program (October 5 to 11) from the American Libraries Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the PEN America study this year is titled The Normalization of Book Banning has been released to the news media with a stark warning: “Our reporting on book bans remains a bellwether of a larger campaign to restrict and control education and public narratives, wreaking havoc on our public schools and democracy.”
Image: PEN America, ‘The Normalization of Book Banning’
The books tracked by PEN America’s research as being banned in the 2024-2025 school year totaled 3,752 titles.
The report’s authors note that although one of the most important effects of literature is to expose readers “to experiences otherwise unknown to them,” that very quality of “not like us” can trigger a banning. As seen in previous years, “Diverse ideas and stories featuring protagonists from historically marginalized identities are often the first topics targeted by censors.”
Sabrina Baêta
In a comment on the results of this year’s study, Sabrina Baêta, PEN America senior program manager in the freedom to read area, says, “No book shelf will be left untouched if local and state book bans continue wreaking havoc on the freedom to read in public schools.
“With the Trump White House now also driving a clear culture of censorship, our core principles of free speech, open inquiry, and access to diverse and inclusive books are severely at risk.
“Book bans stand in the way of a more just, informed and equitable world. They chill the freedom to read and restrict the rights of students to access information and read freely.”
Image: PEN America, ‘The Normalization of Book Banning’
In PEN America’s graphic on the states’ comparative activity in censorship during the 2024-2025 school year, you’ll note that an icon for the Pentagon has appeared, something not seen in previous iterations of the report.
Beginning early in 2025, the Pete Hegseth Pentagon ordered the bannings of certain books from Department of Defense (now Department of War) schools. The purported rationale for these book removals was concern that they were promoting “woke” ideologies, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as gender ideologies. Reportedly, the targeted books included topics on race, LGBTQ issues, feminism, and puberty.
Image: PEN America, ‘The Normalization of Book Banning’
Kasey Meehan
In a comment from Kasey Meehan, director of the PEN America Freedom to Read program, we read, “Image: PEN America, “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.
“A disturbing ‘everyday banning’ and normalization of censorship has worsened and spread over the last four years.
“The result is unprecedented.”
You can access the full report, released on October 1, at PEN America here.
More from Publishing Perspectives on book bannings is here, more on censorship in the broader context is here, more on the freedom to publish and freedom of expression is here, and more on the work of PEN America is here.
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