Here are some of the key findings from PEN America's most recent book ban analysis:

30% of the unique titles banned this fall are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color. Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.
This school year, instances of book bans are most prevalent in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah and South Carolina.
Bans this school year are increasingly affecting a wider swath of titles, including those that portray violence and abuse (44%), discuss topics of health and wellbeing (38%), and cover death and grief (30%).
Books are more frequently labeled "pornographic" or "indecent" by activists and politicians to justify removing books that do not fit well-established legal and colloquial definitions of "pornography."
This school year, numerous states enacted "wholesale bans" in which entire classrooms and school libraries have been suspended, closed, or emptied of books, either permanently or temporarily. These "wholesale bans," have involved the culling of books that were previously available to students, in ways that are impossible to track or quantify.

“These efforts to chill speech are part of the ongoing nationwide ‘Ed Scare’—a campaign to foment anxiety and anger with the goal of suppressing free expression in public education,” PEN American concludes. “As book bans escalate, coupled with the proliferation of legislative efforts to restrict teaching about topics such as race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities, the freedom to read, learn, and think continues to be undermined for students.”

Instant Insights /

How the accelerating pace of school book bans is swallowing up new topics

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