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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Martin Pengelly

Book bans in US public schools increase by 28% in six months, Pen report finds

PEN United States Margaret Atwood Ron DeSantis PEN America Republican
Childrens books displayed outside a bookshop in Florida
‘Of the 1,477 books banned this school year, 30% are about race, racism, or include characters of colour, while 26% have LGBTQ+ characters or themes.’ Photograph: Colin Hackley/Reuters

Book bans in US public schools increased by 28% in the first half of the 2022-23 academic year, the writers’ organisation Pen America said on Thursday, describing a “relentless” conservative “crusade to constrict children’s freedom to read”.

Releasing a new report, Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools, Pen said the increase was over figures for the previous six months.

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