Thirteen books are on the literal chopping block after Utah has imposed what appears the first-ever statewide K12 book ban, according to The New York Times and PEN America, a nonprofit that fights censorship.
Utah’s state Board of Education has just released a “No-Read List” that includes books by acclaimed authors Judy Blume and Margaret Atwood and several wildly popular best-sellers by romance and fantasy author Sarah J. Maas. A new state law requires all districts to remove any books banned by at least three other districts—which means the “No-Read List” is likely to grow, PEN America warns.
“It is a dark day for the freedom to read in Utah,” said Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America. “The state’s No-Read List will impose a dystopian censorship regime across public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences. Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the whole state is anti-democratic, and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns.”
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Utah’s guidance further urges districts to “dispose” of the books and bars schools from re-selling or re-distributing the titles.
“To make matters worse, the implementation guidelines are vague and will undoubtedly result in dumpsters full of books that could otherwise be enjoyed by readers,” Meehan added. “While the final guidance stops short of calling for book burning, the effect is the same: a signal that some books are too dangerous, and that the state has the authority to prohibit them.”
The 13 banned titles:
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
- What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
- Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
- Forever by Judy Blume
- Tilt by Ellen Hopkins
- Fallout (Crank, Book 3) by Ellen Hopkins
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- Blankets by Craig Thompson
Previous DA coverage of book bans:
- Book bans are hitting new heights this school year
- Book bans are the new “Scarlet Letter” anti-censorship group warns
- How the accelerating pace of school book bans is swallowing up new topics
