PEN America: A Journal for Writers and Readers

Jan 29, 2025 | pen.org | Sabrina Baêta

There are a few things Utah students can’t bring to school. Weapons. Vaping devices. Judy Blume’s Forever... Based on a new interpretation of a state law, Utah is forbidding students from bringing banned books to school. The updated guidance from the Utah State Board of Education, first reported by Utah’s KUER, says banned books should be prohibited on school property.

Jan 27, 2025 | pen.org | Jeremy Young |Kristen Shahverdian |Sabrina Baêta |Samantha LaFrance

Picture books featuring gay or transgender characters or naked butts — human or otherwise — were among the most frequently banned in U.S. public schools in the 2023-2024 school year. PEN America counted more than 10,000 book bans in the 2023-2024 school year affecting more than 4,000 unique titles, with about 45% of the bans occurring in Florida and 36% in Iowa. Most bans targeted young adult or adult titles, but about 2% of bans were of picture books for the youngest readers.

Jan 24, 2025 | pen.org | Sabrina Baêta |Samantha LaFrance

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on Friday dismissed 11 complaints and six allegations related to book bans, saying it was ending “Biden’s book ban hoax.”PEN America counted more than 10,000 instances of school book bans in the 2023-2024 school year, nearly triple the number in the previous year. Book bans in United States public school classrooms and libraries are no hoax. You don’t have to take our word for it.

Dec 10, 2024 | pen.org | Gu Byeong-Mo

Award-winning author Gu Byeong-Mo’s latest novel Apartment Women (Hanover Square Press, 2024; translated by Chi-Young Kim) offers a sharp critique of gender roles, parenthood, and shared responsibilities, inviting readers to reflect on the cultural expectations of women in South Korea. The novel follows the intertwining lives of the four couples who live together in the Dream Future Pilot Communal Apartments.

Nov 13, 2024 | pen.org | Sabrina Baêta |Samantha LaFrance

At the tail end of another year that has threatened and targeted books by Native Americans–from book bans to incorrect reclassifications–the work of Dr. Debbie Reese becomes extremely important. Her website, American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL), is a repository of information on Native American heritage that acts, at once, as both an archive and a record, especially of misrepresentation of culture in literature.