PEN America finds bans doubled
- PEN America said May 7 that nonfiction books banned in U.S. public schools more than doubled in the 2024-25 school year. - Its new report counted 1,102 banned nonfiction titles among 3,743 unique books, with activism and social movements topping the target list. - The shift matters because bans are moving beyond novels toward history, health, biography, and basic factual knowledge.
Book bans in schools are not just hitting novels anymore. PEN America’s new report says nonfiction became one of the fastest-growing targets in the 2024-25 school year, with banned titles on history, health, biography, race, gender, and social movements jumping sharply. That matters because once schools start pulling factual books off shelves, the fight is no longer only about stories children read for empathy. It is also about what kinds of knowledge students are allowed to access at all. (pen.org) ### What actually changed? The big change is simple. Nonfiction bans more than doubled in one school year. PEN America says 1,102 nonfiction titles were removed from school libraries or classrooms during the July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 period. That was part of 3,743 unique (pen.org)n. (pen.org) ### Why is nonfiction a different kind of target? Because nonfiction does a different job. A novel can be attacked as morally upsetting or politically loaded. A nonfiction book often gets students basic grounding — how the body works, what happened in history, who fought for (pen.org)ot just losing perspective. They are losing reference material. PEN America frames that as a turn toward anti-intellectualism — basically, suspicion of expertise, facts, and documented history. (pen.org) ### Which books were getting hit? One of the clearest patterns was books about activism and social movements. PEN America says 52% of the banned nonfiction titles fell into that area. The report also points to books on history, biography, memoir, health, and general knowledge(pen.org)e, real events, and ordinary educational topics. That is what makes the shift feel broader than a fight over a few controversial titles. (thehill.com) ### Is this the same as the overall ban trend? Not exactly. The overall number of bans in 2024-25 was lower than the prior year’s peak, but still historically huge. PEN America’s earlier annual tracking found 6,870 ban instances in 2024-25 after 10,046 the year before. So the total wave did not vanish. It ch(thehill.com)to curriculum-adjacent material and not just the usual list of frequently challenged novels. (slj.com) ### Where is this happening most? The heaviest concentrations are still in a relatively small number of states and districts. PEN America’s 2024-25 tracking put Florida first, followed by Texas and Tennessee. That concentration matters because state laws, district review rules, and organized local pressure(slj.com)lds a challenge template, others can copy it. (slj.com) ### Why connect this to politics now? Because the report is not describing random library disputes. It is describing a broader push over who controls school knowledge. PEN America argues that the rise in nonfiction removals mirrors wider attacks on expertise and democratic institutions. You do not have to (slj.com) action is a stronger intervention than banning a novel for explicit scenes. It narrows the factual terrain students can stand on. (pen.org) ### So what is the bottom line? The new phase of the book-ban fight is not just about culture. It is about information. When nonfiction gets swept up at this scale, schools are not merely editing taste. They are editing the record. (pen.org)
