Stephen King Is Most-Banned Author in US Schools

A new national report on school book bans has found Stephen King to be the most frequently censored author, with thousands of titles pulled from shelves in the 2024–25 school year. The study, released Wednesday by PEN America and titled Banned in the USA, recorded more than 6,800 instances of books being restricted—down from over 10,000 last year but still dramatically higher than levels seen just a few years ago.

According to the report, about 80% of these bans came from Florida, Texas, and Tennessee, states that have passed or pursued laws targeting materials deemed objectionable. By contrast, states such as Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey have taken the opposite approach, passing measures that limit schools and libraries from removing books.

“This is increasingly a story of two countries,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN’s Freedom to Read program. She noted that the divide is not simply partisan, as even within states like Florida, responses vary by school district.

Stephen King’s works faced 206 bans, including Carrie and The Stand, out of 87 different titles challenged. The single most banned book was Anthony Burgess’s 1960s dystopian classic A Clockwork Orange, cited 23 times. Other heavily restricted authors included Patricia McCormick (Sold), Judy Blume (Forever), Jennifer Niven (Breathless), Sarah J. Maas, and Jodi Picoult.

The reasons most often cited for removals included LGBTQ+ themes, portrayals of race, violence, and sexual content. But PEN also documented a growing trend of “preemptive bans,” where thousands of books were taken off shelves out of fear of political or legal backlash, rather than direct complaints.

“This functions as a form of obeying in advance,” the report states, describing how some districts sweep broadly to avoid controversy. “In being overly cautious or fearful of punishment, schools end up removing even authors like Stephen King from access,” Meehan explained.

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