PEN America Warns of Rise in Books ‘Systematically Removed From School Libraries’

Other frequently banned and challenged authors include novelist Jodi Picoult, manga author Yusei Matsui and children’s and young adult author Elana K. Arnold.

The report lists the states with the highest rates of book banning in 2024-25 as Florida, with 2,304 instances; Texas (1,781); and Tennessee (1,622).

“Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country. Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide,” the PEN report says.

The PEN America report’s authors added that although many bans have been enacted at the local and state levels, the federal government has been using new executive orders signed by President Trump to remove certain titles from Department of Defense schools on military bases; in July, nearly 600 titles were removed for lack of allignment with executive orders related to diversity, discussions of race and “gender ideology extremism.”

In January, the Department of Education issued a memo in which it called book bans a “hoax,” and rescinded all federal guidance that indicated that removals of “age-inappropriate” books could be violations of civil rights laws.

PEN America also argues that representations of LGBTQ+ identity in books are frequently deemed “sexually explicit,” including in the picture books And Tango Makes Three, the true-life tale of two male Emperor Penguins hatching and raising a baby chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo, and The Purim Superhero, whose main character debates what costume he should wear for the joyous Jewish holiday – and who has two fathers.