Over the past academic year, the books of the “king of horror” were banned more than 200 times, and Carrie and The Stand were among the most censored works.
American writer Stephen King topped the list of authors whose works are most often banned in US schools. This is stated in a new report by the human rights organization PEN America, which was published by the Associated Press.
According to the study, King’s books were censored 206 times. Of his 87 publications, the novels Carrie and The Stand were banned in particular. The most common reasons for removal are scenes of violence, explicit sexual content, as well as LGBTQ+ and racial issues.
In total, in the 2024-2025 academic year, PEN recorded 6,800 cases of temporary or permanent removal of books. Although this figure is 10,000 less than last year, it is still much higher than in previous years.
The most banned work among all authors was the novel A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, which was banned 23 times. Books by Patricia McCormick, Judy Bloom, Jennifer Niven, Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult also appeared on the list.
Interestingly, 80% of all bans are concentrated in three states – Florida, Texas and Tennessee. At the same time, in a number of other states, including Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey, such cases have not been recorded due to existing laws that limit the right of libraries to withdraw books.
Earlier it was reported that the Lionsgate studio presented the first trailer for the film A Long Walk – a film adaptation of the cult novel by Stephen King.
