Books are the most loyal companions of humans; they never abandon you when everything around seems to fade away in the darkness.
Freedom to write is one of the fundamental rights that humanity has been bestowed by God.
A recent report by the organization "PEN America" has revealed that Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools for the 2024-2025 year.
The report also spotlights the widening divide between states that restrict books and those that aim to limit or eliminate bans.
PEN America’s Banned in the USAreport, released on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, lists more than 6,800 books that have been removed or restricted in US schools for the 2024-2025 year.
However, this number is still down from over 10,000 in the previous academic year, 2023-24. It remains significantly higher than pre-2023 levels.
Roughly 80% of those bans mainly came from three states: Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. These states have enacted or attempted to enact laws banning books deemed inappropriate.
At the same time, PEN found few or no examples of removals in several other states, with Illinois, Maryland, and New Jersey among those with laws that restrict the authority of school and public libraries to pull books.
Despite this, the PEN report excludes data from Ohio, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and other “red” states due to a lack of sufficient documentation on book bans.
Kaey Meehan, author of the released report, notes:
“It is increasingly a story of two countries, 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 country to country.”
Stephen King tops the list, as he was the most banned author during the 2024-2025 school year, with 87 unique titles banned, with a total of 206 examples.
King’s books were censored 206 times with Carrieand The Standalso included in the list of 87 books that have been affected by this censorship.
Stephen King recently returned to social media platform X after a hiatus of three months. He posted on X, commenting on the report.
"I am now the most banned author in the United States—87 books. May I suggest you pick up one of them and see what all the pissing & moaning is about?”
King added further, “Self-righteous book banners don’t always get to have their way. This is still America, dammit.”
Stephen King is having an incredible year in 2025, having surpassed Agatha Christie as the most adapted author. With over 55 book-to-feature adaptations since his classic novel “Carrie” came out.
Besides, King’s stories have indeed been adapted into numerous films, TV shows, and mini-series, well over 100 times.
While Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orangetops the list of banned books, with 23 removal attempts.
Other books and authors who have faced significant challenges and restrictions include Patricia McCormick’s Sold, Judy Blume’s Forever,and Jennifer Niven’s Breathless, along with works by Sarah J. Maas and Jodi Picoult.
The reasons often quoted by the authorities for pulling a book include passages with violence and sexual content, LGBT+ themes, and depictions of race.
PEN highlights a growing trend: many books are being proactively removed from shelves due to potential backlash, rather than actual complaints.
This indicates a climate of caution and self-censorship.