Report: book bans rising in U.S., targeting nonfiction and LGBTQ+ titles
booksMay 9, 20261071
PEN America found that 29% of unique titles banned in U.S. public schools last year were nonfiction. Of those banned nonfiction books, 52% focused on race, gender, or sexuality and included history, health, biographies and general knowledge. Many of the targeted nonfiction works dealt with activism and social movements, including civil rights and LGBTQ+ experiences. That shift matters because removing nonfiction limits students' access to factual history, public health information and civic education during critical learning years.
