This spring marks five years of escalating attacks on books and libraries in America. Throughout 2026, organizations across the spectrum will be marking this anniversary, both to emphasize how long and complex this battle has been and to champion and celebrate the work being done to protect equitable access to books and libraries.
Let’s begin, though, with what we can count and track most easily: banned books from between 2021 and 2026.
There are currently four authoritative lists of banned book titles. These are books we know have been banned based on reported and/or published data, as well as because they’re on a state-sponsored list of banned titles. Most of the books banned in America go undocumented, so what we know from these lists represents but a fraction of how widespread the practice of literary censorship is. PEN America reports that since the 2021 school year, about 23,000 books have been banned based on documentation. Reality is that this number is multiples higher, knowing what we do about quiet censorship, the deceleration of book purchases at libraries, and the chilling effect.
Official Lists of Documented Book Bans
During National Library Week every year, the American Library Association (ALA) releases its Top Ten Most Challenged Titles list. ALA has tracked challenged books–that is, titles which have had a complaint lodged against them, whether or not they’re ultimately banned–since 1981. The professional organization has released Top Ten lists since 2001. These challenges are those reported nationwide in libraries, so they capture a broad range of titles and institutions.
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Since the 2021-2022 school year, PEN America has documented book bans in public schools nationwide. This is newer work for them, and, like the ALA, they document based on reports submitted to them and those in news reports. Also, like the ALA, they’ve teased out the top-banned titles each year, hoping to both highlight the current targets and explore the themes within them. PEN’s reports have also been a fascinating and frustrating exercise in explaining that the titles at the top of the list change each year because once books are banned in the schools, they are no longer in the schools. ALA’s lists are often more consistent in terms of titles because they track more libraries; they also reflect what PEN’s lists do, showcasing that what happens in the schools does not stop there.
The meteoric rise of book bans in America began in spring 2021. It was the natural next step in right-wing rhetoric about “reopening the schools” after COVID (schools were never closed but were virtual), followed by “unmask the kids” and “don’t vax the kids.” As has been said since the beginning, this attack on books has never been about the books. It’s been an attack on inclusivity or, in their parlance, “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). It’s been an attack on “comprehensive sexuality education,” now more commonly referred to as “gender ideology” or “sexual orientation and gender ideology” (SOGI). It’s been an attack on any science-based facts that don’t align with white Christian nationalism, such as social-emotional learning, climate change, and so forth. It’s never been about the books, but about both the ideas within those books and the people they represent.
The ALA and PEN aren’t the only places keeping verified and as comprehensive as possible lists of banned books. So, too, are two U.S. states. While three states in the country have legislative mechanisms to demand the removal of books from all public schools, only two have exercised them so far: Utah and South Carolina. Utah, as of writing, has banned 34 books from all public schools in the state thanks to its 2024 law; South Carolina, as of writing, has banned 22 books thanks to its 2024 law. The third state that has the ability to do this is Tennessee, and while there have been numerous book bans in the state, none have yet been decreed officially by the state. Meanwhile, Florida doesn’t have the mechanisms to maintain an official list of banned books, but the State Board of Education has a list of specific books they’ve demanded that schools remove. The books on all of these lists–sanctioned or not–are, of course, folded into the counts by both ALA and PEN.
But as we roll into our fifth year of ongoing book censorship, what do we actually know about the books being targeted? Pulling from both ALA and PEN’s Top Ten Lists, as well as the titles on the official state banned lists from Utah and South Carolina between 2021 and 2026, here’s some insight of note. Florida’s unofficial list is not included here because it is not official state documentation; however, the books that have been banned as a result of the unofficial list are incorporated in both ALA and PEN’s data. Note that ALA’s data covers five full years, while PEN’s accounts cover four full school years. Their fifth year of data, covering the 2025-2026 school year, will be released in the fall.
A total of 11 lists were evaluated: five from ALA, four from PEN, one from Utah, and one from South Carolina. The word “banned” is used to describe all of these books, as ultimately, the books being tracked as “challenged” by the ALA are most frequently challenged as a means of having them banned (be it by relocation, restriction, redaction, or outright removal–the things that PEN tracks and that the state lists demand).
The Most Banned Books and Most Banned Authors, 2021-2026
Let’s begin with the most banned books over the last five years. Here are the top targeted titles, and in parentheses, you’ll see the number of times that specific book has been on the Top Ten list and/or the state-sanctioned lists.
- #1: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (8)
- #2 (tie): All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (7)
- #2 (tie): The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (7)
- #2 (tie): Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe (7)
- #2 (tie): Tricks by Ellen Hopkins (7)
- #3 (tie): Crank by Ellen Hopkins (6)
- #3 (tie): Sold by Patricia McCormick (6)
- #4 (tie): A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (5)
- #4 (tie): Flamer by Mike Curato (5)
- #4 (tie): Looking for Alaska by John Green (5)
- #4 (tie): Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (5)
- #5 (tie): A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (4)
- #5 (tie): This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson
Because numerous authors show up repeatedly on these lists for different books, it’s also worth looking at the most banned authors over the last five years. Here are the authors who’ve been most frequently targeted and the number of times they’ve appeared on the Top Ten list and/or state-sanctioned lists.
- #1: Ellen Hopkins (20)
- #2: Sarah J. Maas (18)
- #3: Stephen Chbosky (8)
- #4 (tie): Toni Morrison (7)
- #4 (tie): Maia Kobabe (7)
- #4 (tie): George M. Johnson (7)
- #5 (tie): Patricia McCormick (6)
- #5 (tie): Jesse Andrews (6)
Ellen Hopkins tops the list for several reasons. The first is that her work has long been a favorite of the censors, but in this current wave, the reality is that she’s simply got more titles that can be challenged than many of the others on this list. For decades, Hopkins has been fierce and outspoken about defending the right to read (and the reasons why she writes books that explore topics that are tough for young readers–it reflects reality!). It’s noteworthy that Maas, who has been one of the most banned authors for five years, has said virtually nothing about the censorship of her work.
Of the eight authors most banned since 2021, six identify as marginalized genders.
More Data About Banned Books From 2021-2026
One piece of data about banned books that always surprises people is that the vast majority of the books being banned are not new books. In many cases, these are not new books by a long shot. There are several reasons for this.
First, in public schools, it can take a long time for books to even reach the library. School libraries don’t acquire new books year-round, and their budgets can swing year to year. Because school libraries serve their school community, acquisitions sometimes don’t happen in the same way they do in public libraries. There may be assignments or projects that require the library to purchase books that aren’t necessarily brand new, just as they likely need to replace battered, damaged, or missing copies of those older titles more frequently than their public library counterparts.
Second: book banners don’t actually know how the ecosystem of book acquisition in libraries works. Books don’t just appear on shelves. They go through numerous layers of gatekeeping before professional trade journals even review them and considered for purchase by librarians. The unprofessional review sites developed by those actively engaged in book censorship use volunteers who pick up whatever they can get their hands on.
So how old are these books?
The average publication date of the most banned books in America is 2008.
That means the average publication date of the books banned over the last five years is 18 years old. Manyof the books being banned right now were likely sitting perfectly fine on shelves and being read by school-age readers when the current mob of banners were themselves teenagers. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the most banned book over the last five years, was published in 1999.
Because the average is, of course, skewed by the books on either extreme of the spectrum, let’s also take a look at the median publication date.
The median publication date of the most banned books in America is 2012.
That’s still 15 years ago.
For the sake of data completionism, here are a few more numbers related to the age and publication dates of the most banned books in America over the last five years:
- The most common publication date is 2020. That’s thanks to numerous bans on All Boys Aren’t Blue and Flamer, not because of a unique number of titles banned that year.
- The next most common publication dates are 2019, then 2015. Next is a tie between 2018 and 2007.
- What is the earliest publication date among the most banned books over the last five years? It’s 1962’s A Clockwork Orange. Other books on this list with publication dates in the last century include The Bluest Eye (1970), Forever … (1975), The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Wicked (1995), Push (1996), A Clash of Kings (1998), Bag of Bones (1998), Lucky (1999), and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999).
- The most recent publication date for the most frequently banned books is 2021. Those books are Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Let’s Talk About It, and A Court of Silver Flames. Again: these aren’t new books! They’re already five years old. That’s not indicative of value or worthiness, but rather a reminder that this work is not forward-looking. What’s forward-looking–and dangerous–is how many of the libraries banning these books under pressure have also adapted new policies that do not allow them to acquire new books (by choice or by force) and/or have created a chilling effect that causes librarians not to purchase anything that “might” cause partisan sycophants to get mad.
Use this information as you continue to advocate for inclusive and diverse library collections, whether that’s in your local public library or your school library (or both!). The data is illuminating because it points to where and how this panic is manufactured. These aren’t new books, and the themes and topics of these books make it quite clear that marginalized identities are the focus of the bigotry. Why is it that in 2026, a book published in 1999 tops the list of most targeted titles? Why is it that a book published in 1962 is causing a stir?
The answer is because it’s all made up. Those books weren’t doing damage back when the banners were in school, and those books–as well as the newer books that explore complex and important topics–handle themes, characters, voices, and stories with more care, nuance, sensitivity, and safety than young readers exposed to them just about anywhere else.
It’s a reminder that the “parental rights” movement seeks to have the government do the full-throated parenting so that parents don’t have to explain to their children why they don’t like people of color and/or gay people, and why they don’t believe in climate change or empathy. It’s so those parents don’t have to explain to their children why we continue to protect a ring of child sexual abusers in our political system and why it is that teen pregnancy going down is a bad thing.
Our young people deserve better.
Book Censorship News: May 15, 2026
This is the formal call for you toshare your stories of Pride censorship in libraries in 2026.The reports can be of pre-Pride cancelations or quiet censorship, as much as they can be about louder cancelations throughout the month. Your responses can be entirely anonymous, and you’re welcome to share this form to make a report. It will be shared through the end of June.
- The Arkansas State Library Board advanced a bill that would tie a pool of funding for libraries that assert they do not have “sexually explicit” material available in them for young readers. A reminder that no libraries have “sexually explicit” materials available for young readers in them. What we have going on here is the opposite of the states with anti-book ban bills; Arkansas is proposing a pro-book banning policy. Libraries don’t need to opt in, but the questions will then come up as to why and that will be used by the book banners to “prove” libraries have naughty books.
- The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied an appeal of the case that allows Iowa to ban any books from schools with “sex acts” in them. Expect even more bans across that state.
- 40 high school students who’ve been working on their band concert music for months just had one of the pieces banned by the school board. This is in Watertown, Wisconsin, and the board banned the lyric-free song because of its ties to LGBTQ+ history. Really. The writer of the song is gay, and it’s in tribute to a trans icon.
- Knox County Schools (TN) just banned Roots under the state’s “Age-Appropriate Materials Act.” Racism through and through and well timed with the state’s redistricting to disenfranchise marginalized–and specifically Black–voters.
- The American Civil Liberties Union has developed a series of educational videos for students called the “Know Your Rights University.” Their latest edition of the series is specifically focused on book bans.
- PEN America’s latest report dives into the acceleration of school book bans targeting nonfiction. My own nonfiction has been subject to bans in schools for many of the very reasons identified here.
- “In 2024, parents in Menomonee Falls [WI] fileda complaintwith the state alleging the school district’s removal of a children’s book depicting same-sex families was discriminatory.Now two years later, the Department of Public Instruction says it has “limited authority” to assess whether the School District of Menomonee Falls violated its local policies or the law.” So the state department of public instruction can’t make a call on whether or not discriminatory book bans are discriminatory? Interestingly, they did tell the school that they can no longer evaluate books based on biased review sources.
- British children’s books have been confiscated at Customs in Russia for being “extremist.”
- Texas Tech students–recall these are not children but full-fledged adults–held a funeral for academic and intellectual freedom on campus. The state and federal government have created a culture of censorship at the higher educational institute.
- Here’s a great letter to the editor from a resident of Cromine, Michigan, watching her public library’s board step proudly into partisanship, undermining the professionalism of the librarians who work there.
- Moore County Schools (NC) talked about where and how their school libraries make decisions about books they purchase. This is a worthwhile read for the reminder that this is a professional process and how legislators–who claim to be “small government” and have no background in librarianship, literacy, or child development–want to be the ones to dictate the books in libraries.
- Texas’s Bible-infused curriculum (which, recall, is opt-in to public school districts but “opt-in” here means the state will give them money to do so) will be sent back to the state for over 4,000 corrections. That’s even more taxpayer money being wasted on biased, Christian curriculum.
- In the UK, there are complaints about libraries taking part in Pride events.
- Want a little inspiration to keep doing good work in support of diverse literature and libraries? Here’s a young girl who stood up in support of her public library when she was SEVEN years old.
- Republicans in Arizona denied a funding request for a southern Arizona library because it once hosted drag events. The funding request was for building maintenance but this party is so fixated on gender they will let the library fall into disrepair.
- Westport Schools (CT) were used as a model for the state’s Freedom to Read laws, and now, they’re going to vote on updating their policies to also protect curriculum from similar ideological censorship. There’s a bit in here worth reading about how the federal government bans non-discrimination based on gender but the state has upped their gender identity protections.
- “Public Education Advocates of Lancaster, a grassroots initiative formed by Lancaster County parents and residents to oppose book bans, school vouchers and gender-based discrimination in schools, has formed a political action committee ahead of the 2027 municipal elections.” Some good work out of Pennsylvania.
- Alpena Public Library (MI), which has been under attack from a small but vocal group of far-right religious folks for years, is going to revisit their collection challenge policies. Some of this board will never trust that they have competent, professional librarians in their institution; others are simply annoyed that there are.
- Fresno County (CA) has banned the library from participating in Pride events. Their justification is that tax money shouldn’t be spent on such a celebration, as if there aren’t queer people who live in Fresno County and pay taxes.
- Warning that this is a very disturbing video. A January 6th-er showed up in Dearborn, Michigan, and burned a copy of Anti-Racist Baby.
- Utah’s 34 state-sanctioned book bans nearly all originate from just two of the state’s districts. This means two districts are dictating what all districts can do and are the reason why so many books are being destroyed (that’s Utah’s law–destruction of the titles).
- Related, the lawsuit filed earlier this year against the state of Utah’s book bans had its first hearing this week.
- Broken Arrow Library (OK)–part of the Tulsa City-County Library System–had a patron forward a complaint to a local state senator about LGBTQ+ books on one of its displays. That led to the display being dismantled and library administration “rebuking” the library system.
- New Braunfels Independent School District (TX), which you may recall had to shut down their libraries last fall to check for books out of compliance with state laws and which used Artificial Intelligence to do the banning, finally allowed for the purchase of hundreds of new books for district libraries. They . . . used AI to vet the titles. What a slap in the face to professionals.
