New PEN America report reveals Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools

It’s charismatic – and very depressing: Stephen King is nan astir banned writer successful US schools, according to a caller study connected book bans.

PEN America’s "The Normalization of Book Banning - Banned successful nan USA 2024-2025”, published today, tracks 6,870 instances of books being temporarily aliases permanently pulled for nan 2024-2025 schoolhouse twelvemonth crossed 23 states and 87 nationalist schoolhouse districts.

The report, which examines nan ambiance of censorship betwixt 1 July 2024 done 30 June 2025, states that successful 2025, book censorship successful nan US is “rampant and common” and that “never earlier successful nan life of immoderate surviving American person truthful galore books been systematically removed from schoolhouse libraries crossed nan country”. 

The study adds: “Never earlier person truthful galore states passed laws aliases regulations to facilitate nan banning of books, including bans connected circumstantial titles statewide. Never earlier person truthful galore politicians sought to bully schoolhouse leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, moreover threatening nationalist backing to nonstop compliance. Never earlier has entree to truthful galore stories been stolen from truthful galore children.” 

Some 80% of nan bans originated successful conscionable 3 states that person enacted aliases attempted to enact laws calling for removal of books deemed objectionable: Florida, Texas and Tennessee. 

Reasons often cited for pulling a book see LGBTQ+ themes, depictions of title and passages pinch unit and intersexual violence.

PEN finds that an ongoing inclination has only intensified: thousands of books were taken disconnected shelves successful anticipation of community, governmental aliases ineligible unit alternatively than successful consequence to a nonstop threat. 

“This functions arsenic a shape of ‘obeying advance,’” nan study reads, “rooted successful fearfulness aliases simply a desire to debar topics that mightiness beryllium deemed controversial.”

PEN America has besides identified “a caller vector of book banning pressure”: nan national government. 

“Since returning to office, nan Trump Administration has mimicked rhetoric astir “parents’ rights”, which, successful Florida and different states, has mostly been utilized to beforehand book bans and censorship of schools, against nan wishes of galore parents, students, families, and educators.” 

The study highlights that “under nan guise of “returning acquisition to parents,” President Trump has released a bid of Executive Orders (EOs) mainly: 'Ending Radical Indoctrination successful K-12 Schooling', 'Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism', and 'Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing'.”

In summation to nan efforts from nan White House, nan Department of Education ended an inaugural by nan Biden management to analyse nan legality of bans and has called nan full rumor a “hoax”.

The study was preceded by scary icon Stephen King taking to X and sharing: “I americium now nan astir banned writer successful nan United States – 87 books. May I propose you prime up 1 of them and spot what each nan pissing & moaning is about?” 

He added: “Self-righteous book banners don’t ever get to person their way. This is still America, dammit.” 

Indeed, King’s books were censored 206 times, according to PEN, pinch “Carrie” and “The Stand” among nan 87 of his useful affected. 

Ellen Hopkins, Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult were immoderate of nan different astir banned authors, pinch 167, 162 and 62 censored times respectively.  

The astir banned activity of immoderate writer was Anthony Burgess’ dystopian classical “A Clockwork Orange,” for which PEN recovered 23 removals.  

Other books and authors facing extended restrictions see Jennifer Niven’s “Breathless” (20), Patricia McCormick’s “Sold” (20), Malinda Lo’s “Last Night astatine nan Telegraph Club” (19) and Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Mist and Fury” (18). 

The afloat and very alarming PEN America “Banned successful nan USA” study tin beryllium recovered here.

King, who is having a large surface twelvemonth successful 2025, has overtaken Agatha Christie arsenic nan astir adapted author. The prolific writer’s works person been transposed to some nan large surface and nan mini surface for decades, pinch much than 55 book-to-feature adaptations since 1976’s Carrie. When besides accounting for TV shows and miniseries, his stories person been brought to nan screens good complete 100 times. 

He is besides a vocal professional of Donald Trump, and recently, successful a caller question and reply pinch The Guardian, compared Trump’s presidency to “a scary story”.

Answering a instrumentality mobility “If you had to invent an ending for Trumpian America, what would it be?”, King answered: “I deliberation it would beryllium impeachment – which, successful my view, would beryllium a bully ending. I would emotion to spot him retired, let’s put it that way.”

He added: “The bad ending would beryllium that he gets a 3rd word and takes things complete completely. It’s a scary communicative either way. Trump is simply a scary story, isn’t he?”