Стівен Кінґ, «Джейн Ейр» and manga: США set a record for the number of books banned in schools
In public schools США for the 2025-2026 school year recorded a record 11 982 cases of book ban. Restrictions affected 7370 various works, and most often Стівена Кінґа books were removed from school libraries.
This is stated in the report PEN America.
According to the organization, this is the highest figure in five years of observations. Over 4500 books were included in the list of banned for the first time - this is also a record for one academic year.
Texas and Florida have the most restrictions. PEN America notes that in these states, school district decisions are influenced by legislative restrictions, political pressure and organized campaigns demanding the removal of certain books.
For the second year in a row, the author whose works were most often banned became Стівен Кінґ. During the school year, his books were deleted 312 times, in particular «Сяйво» and «Зелену милю».
The list of authors whose works were often restricted also included Еллен Гопкінс, Сара Дж. Maas, Джоді Піколт, as well as the authors of the manga Окубо Ацуші and Ісаяма Хаджіме.
The most frequently banned single book was «Продана» Патрісії Маккормік - a novel about a girl who was sold into sexual slavery. PEN America recorded 25 cases of her removal.
Other books that have been repeatedly banned include «Говори» Лорі Голз Андерсон, «Крек» Еллен Гопкінс and «Оповідь служниці» Марґарет Етвуд.
The list of works that were first banned included, among others, «Джейн Ейр» Шарлотти Бронте, «Токійський гуль» Суї Ішіди and 34 volume «Атаки титанів» Ісаями Хаджіме.
A separate trend PEN America called the use of artificial intelligence to select books that can be removed from school libraries.
According to the organization, some school districts use generative models to analyze publications in accordance with the requirements of the law. At the same time, such systems can recommend deleting a book only because it has already been banned in other districts, without a full analysis of the context and content.
In PEN America also drew attention to the growing number of manga bans and graphic novels. Most often, the claims relate to sex scenes, violence and themes of gender identity.
Recall that 6 October California was the first in США to prohibit employers from entrusting artificial intelligence with final decisions on dismissal or disciplinary penalties.
