Book bans in US public schools increase by 28% in six months, Pen report finds

Writers organisation denounces ‘relentless’ Republican crusade as 1,477 books banned in first half of 2022-23 school year

Book bans in US public schools increased by 28% in the first half of the 2022-23 academic year, the writers’ organisation Pen America said on Thursday, describing a “relentless” conservative “crusade to constrict children’s freedom to read”.

Releasing a new report, Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools, Pen said the increase was over figures for the previous six months.