Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools, PEN report says

PEN report: King is the most banned author in US schools

NEW YORK — A new report on book bans in U.S. schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit or eliminate bans.

Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools, report says

King’s books were censored 206 times, according to PEN America, with Carrie and The Stand among the 87 of his works affected.

These women are among the top five most banned authors in schools

Not only does the book-banning trend that has escalated over the past several years show no signs of slowing down, it is increasingly becoming “normalized,” according to new research by PEN America. The freedom of expression advocacy group released its report “The Normalization of Book Banning” on Wednesday — just ahead of Banned Books Week, which kicks off Sunday — finding that state laws and White House executive orders have made censorship in…

The Most Banned Authors in U.S. Schools

Stephen King, Ellen Hopkins, Sarah J. Maas, Jodi Picoult, and Yũsei Matsui topped the list of authors whose books were most frequently banned in the U.S. in the last school year, according to a new report. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] PEN America, a nonprofit focused on defending freedom of expression, recorded 6,870 instances of books being banned in the 2024-2025 school year across 23 states and 87 public school districts. While that’s a d…

Stephen King Is Most-Banned Author in US Schools

A new report on book bans in US schools finds Stephen King as the author most likely to be censored and the country divided between states actively restricting works and those attempting to limit or eliminate bans. PEN America's "Banned in the USA," released Wednesday, tracks more than 6,800...