It's Banned Books Week: Most challenged titles and how publishers are pushing back

Freedom is among the central tenets of American life or, at the very least, of our marketing strategy. Patriotic phrases, songs and imagery revolve around freedom, free people and freedoms that can't be taken away.

But how far does that freedom extend? Banned Books Week poses that question as parents' rights groups, politicians, librarians and publishers are increasingly at odds over which books are suitable for young people to read.

Across several polls, most Americans don’t agree with book banning. An American Library Association survey of voters and public school parents found that 71% oppose removing books from public libraries, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents.

So why do we keep seeing books being targeted? Keep reading to learn more about Banned Books Week:

When is Banned Books Week?

Banned Books Week runs from Sunday, Sept. 23 to Saturday, Sept. 28, ending off with “Freedom to Read Day.” 

Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist

The theme this year is “Freed Between the Lines.” Cindy Holh, the American Library Association (ALA) president described the theme as "an observance of the freedom we find in the pages of books and the need to defend that freedom from censorship.”

What is Banned Books Week?

Banned Books Week offers a moment to reflect on the power of the free word.

Launched in 1982, the observance served as an answer to a rising number of book challenges across libraries, bookstores and classrooms. Over forty years later, book bans are once again on the rise. While the ALA's preliminary data for 2024 saw a decrease in the number of overall challenges, the figure still far exceeds pre-2020 levels.  

“Unfortunately this isn’t new behavior, censorship has been documented since the 1600s all across the globe,” Hohl said, adding ”It’s really something that shouldn’t be a part of the American fabric.” 

She has been particularly troubled by what she sees as the divorce between many book challenges and the truth of what a library within any one community is offering. Sometimes books that are not even housed in a library's catalog are challenged, she says, coming instead from curated lists online.

In 2023, a USA TODAY investigation revealed that a site called BookLooks.org was the resource behind hundreds of book challenges nationwide. Launched in 2022, the site promotes a book-rating system that right-wing political activist group Moms for Liberty also uses.

What are the most banned books?

According to the American Library Association, the 10 most challenged books of 2023 were:

1. "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe
2. "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson
3. "This Book is Gay" by Juno Dawson
4. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
5. "Flamer" by Mike Curato
6. "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
7. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews *
8. "Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins *
9. "Let's Talk About It: The Teen's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human" by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
10. "Sold" by Patricia McCormick

*Numbers seven and eight on this list were a tie.

Data from PEN America, a nonprofit organization that tracks book bans, shows Florida as the state with by far the most book bans between July 2021 and December 2023, followed by Texas.

As some communities debate removing titles from their shelves, Hohl hopes readers feel even more motivated to engage. “I would encourage people to look into any banned book that’s on the list and try to understand why someone felt that information was unnecessary for your community. Make an informed decision for yourself,” she says.

Why are books being banned?

A book ban is a restriction to access. A book is first challenged and then removed from classrooms or libraries for review – sometimes indefinitely. 

Moms For Liberty has been a particularly powerful crusader within the parents' rights movement, with a major focus on sexual content. 

“Age Appropriate is NOT Banning,” Moms for Liberty posted on Twitter this week. "Schools have the responsibility of keeping obscene and pornographic materials out of the hands of children. Our moms are working within their communities to make sure books in public schools are age appropriate for all children.”

Authors of books banned for this reason told the USA TODAY Network it’s inaccurate and lacking in context to describe their work as “pornographic.” 

In Florida, recent legislation dictates that titles including sexual content, even if it is not pornographic, are subject to removal. This means materials like the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “The Color Purple,” and “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation” have been pulled from shelves to review. Some Shakespeare titles are at risk.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statement in February pushing back against what he called the “Book Ban Hoax,” stating that the state Department of Education “does not ban books.” Under Florida legislation, however, teachers can be charged with a felony for possessing and distributing inappropriate books. “Inappropriate” can be hard to define. Mentions of race or an LGBTQ+ person or relationship and sexual violence in any context has fallen under that term.

Hohl feels the conversation around "appropriateness" is not happening between the correct parties: "Library professionals are information professionals," she says. "We are highly educated in our field, many of us obtained a master of library and information science degree and we are well trained in literacy services for our communities. So it’s interesting that we would have any group of the community choose to not engage with us directly and have those discussions.”

A Washington Post analysis of 986 books challenged in school libraries between 2021 and 2022 found that nearly 42% of the books challenged had LGBTQ+ themes or characters and 28% had characters of color or dealt with race.

“Who gets to make these decisions?” says Jennie Pu, the library director at Hoboken Public Library in New Jersey, which became the state’s first “book sanctuary” in 2023. “It’s a slippery slope. Once you start to ban one thing, everything is at play.”

Publishers, authors fight against book censorship

Book banning has united some of the largest publishing houses in the U.S. In August, Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks – as well as the Authors Guild, bestselling authors, students and parents – filed a lawsuit against the Florida State Board of Education. The suit challenges HB 1069, which empowers any parent or county resident to object to educational materials, which must be removed within five days and remain off the shelves until resolved. 

Penguin Random House has also filed and joined lawsuits against Iowa, Arkansas and Texas school districts.

“We have a role to play in combating this,” says Daniel Novack, vice president and associate general counsel at Penguin Random House. “We don’t merely put the books out there and wish for the best – we have to support the authors and also support the reader’s ability to encounter these books.”

Penguin Random House’s “Banned Wagon” is touring this week, visiting communities with high volumes of book bans and challenges. They’re also sending out banned book action boxes to influencers and bookstores with advice on how to educate their audiences and customers on the issue.

“We’re an increasingly diverse country and every student has to be able to see himself, herself, themself in the books that are available to them, otherwise they won’t fall in love with reading,” Novack says. “Reading is incredibly important to self, to your career, to your well being. … We stand to lose a lot if we abandon, as a country, young people's right to read.”