Collier County Public Schools in Florida, United States, banned more than 300 books from its school libraries after publishing a long list that includes a variety of literary classics, books adapted into films and several classics of Stephen King as “Carrie”, “Item” and “Four after midnight”.
“16 of my books? “I must be doing something right.”the popular writer Stephen King mocked from his account on the social network
The decision to remove those books from school circulation is based on Florida regulation HB 1069, a law that expanded school board oversight of library collections, expanded mechanisms to challenge books, as long as the content “ depicts or describes sexual conduct” is a valid reason for a challenge and prohibition of instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity through the eighth grade.
“Stephen King is a very popular author among teenagers, eliminating his books denies access to educational works”, said James LaRue, director of the Office of Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association to PEN America. “It’s a shame,” he concluded about the decision made in Florida.
Among the many authors with books banned in Collier County are Judy Blume, Orson Scott Card, Stephen Chbosky, Mary Higgins Clark, Arthur C. Clarke, Pat Conroy, Janet Evanovich, Neil GaimanJohn Green, John GrishamEllen Hopkins, Khaled Hosseini, Sue Monk Kidd, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, Dean Koontz, David Levithan, Patricia McCormick, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol OatesJames Patterson, Ashley Hope Pérez, Jodi Picoult, Anna Quindlen, Nora Roberts, Tom Robbins, Anne RiceJohn Updike and Ibi Zoboi.
The book ban in the United States
Collier County’s decision is not isolated: the ban on books in schools in the United States tripled in the last year in the country and Florida led the largest number of cases, surpassing Texas, the AFP news agency reported.
As PEN América has warned in one of its latest reports, the deprivation of access to fundamental literary works violates basic constitutional freedoms. The association warned that this is the worst wave of censorship in decades, with more than 5,800 books banned since 2021.
“We are saddened for Collier County Public Schools students that so many titles, including renowned literary classics and contemporary works for young adults, are prohibited from student access,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program at PEN America, upon learning of the decision.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
