NEW YORK, Oct 4 — Stephen King has become the most frequently censored author in US schools, according to a new report that underscores the country’s widening divide over what students should be allowed to read.

PEN America’s Banned in the USA report, released on Wednesday, recorded more than 6,800 instances of books being removed or restricted during the 2024–25 school year. 

The total, while down from more than 10,000 the previous year, remains far higher than just a few years ago, when such numbers were rarely tracked. The findings were reported by the Associated Press.

Roughly 80 per cent of all bans originated in Florida, Texas and Tennessee — states that have enacted or proposed laws to remove works deemed objectionable. 

In contrast, several others, including Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey, have passed measures that limit the authority of schools and libraries to withdraw books.

“It is increasingly a story of two countries,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN’s Freedom to Read programme and one of the report’s authors. 

“And it’s not just a story of red states and blue states. In Florida, not all of the school districts responded to the calls for banning books. You can find differences from county to county.”

King’s novels were removed or restricted 206 times, with Carrie and The Stand among 87 of his titles affected. 

The most banned single work was Anthony Burgess’s 1962 dystopian classic A Clockwork Orange, which was pulled 23 times. 

Other authors facing extensive restrictions included Patricia McCormick, Judy Blume, Jennifer Niven, Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult.

Many titles were challenged for LGBTQ+ themes, depictions of race, and portrayals of violence or sexual assault. 

PEN also found that thousands of removals were pre-emptive — books taken off shelves in anticipation of political or community pressure. T

he report described this as a form of “obeying in advance,” rooted in fear or a desire to avoid controversy.

The group said the US federal government has also retreated from efforts to address the issue. 

The Department of Education under President Joe Biden ended an initiative to investigate the legality of book bans, calling the matter a “hoax.” 

At the same time, the Department of Defence has removed hundreds of books from schools for military families as part of a campaign against diversity and inclusion programs.

Florida alone accounted for more than 2,000 removals, many involving King’s works. 

Meehan said that while his novels are not typically the focus of moral objections, they are often swept up in broader purges targeting “adult” or “sexual” content.

PEN’s tally differs from that of the American Library Association, which only counts permanent bans. 

Both groups acknowledge that their data is incomplete because much of the activity occurs without public notice.

“It’s become harder and harder to quantify the scope of the book banning crisis,” Meehan said. 

“Our data is a snapshot — what we were able to collect through what’s publicly reported or what journalists have uncovered.”