Banned books lists
We've compiled banned books lists from across the country, organized by state.
ARIZONA [Public list]
Latest list: Feb 10, 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Chokehold, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; friendship bracelet books, coloring books
Context: Litigation over “sexual content” rejections in 2019 led the state to halve its list.
Earlier lists: Jun 30, 2019 (HRDC) | Jun 10, 2019 (HRDC) | 2017 (AZCentral) | 2015 (ACLU)
CALIFORNIA [Public list]
Latest list: Jan 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Art history books; 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die; George R. R. Martin titles
Context: HRDC obtained a list of disapproved publications in June 2019.
COLORADO [Review process]
Latest list: Oct 15, 2018 – Sep 2019, HRDC (fully censored publications)
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: A 2004 ACLU settlement set strict review rules and oversight, which likely explains the state’s better record-keeping.
Earlier lists: 2013–2019 (overturned rejections) | 2013–2019 (facility review committee decisions)
CONNECTICUT [Public list]
Latest list: 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Game of Thrones books; coloring books; books about the music industry
Context: A 2013 ban on Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone was reversed after media attention.
Earlier lists: Jun 2019, (HRDC) | 2013 (The Atlantic / National Journal)
FLORIDA [Public list]
Latest list: May 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Klingon dictionaries; a coloring book about chickens
Context: Some books were banned as “security threats.”
Earlier lists: 2012–present (HRDC, obtained Jul 2019) | 1991–2011 (HRDC)
IDAHO [Public list]
Latest list: 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: None noted
Earlier lists: 2021/2022 (PEN America)
ILLINOIS [Public list]
Latest list: Feb 2022, (banned books), Feb 2022 (disapproved books), PEN America
Notable bans: Blood in the Water
Context: HRDC and WBEZ have each obtained lists, including one that predates 2018.
Earlier lists: Jun 2019 (HRDC) | Jan 2018 and earlier (WBEZ)
IOWA [Review process]
Latest list: 2019, HRDC (master publications list)
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: Titles are marked denied (D) or accepted (A), and a very high share were accepted, suggesting good review policies. In 2018, prisoners sued over a rule against sexually explicit material or nudity.
Earlier lists: None available
KANSAS [List abolished]
Latest list: Oct 2021, PEN America
Notable bans: A Clockwork Orange; Are Prisons Obsolete?; role-playing manuals (D&D, Pathfinder)
Context: After the 2019 list went public, officials announced the list would be eliminated and the policy reviewed.
Earlier lists: May 2019 (HRDC)
LOUISIANA [Public list]
Latest list: 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Game of Thrones; tabletop RPGs such as D&D; Black Skin, White Masks
Context: A 2018 list covered political material, non-Christian religious material, anti-racism books, and even re-entry guides.
MICHIGAN [Public list]
Latest list: Apr 2022, PEN America
Notable bans: Coding, web design, and basic wiring books; Frantz Fanon
Context: The state also blocks used books and limits purchases to a few vendors.
Earlier lists: 2019 (Bridge Magazine) | 2017 (Muckrock, list dated 2014)
MONTANA [Public list]
Latest list: Entries 2012–2023, PEN America
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: None noted
Earlier lists: None available
NEBRASKA [Public list]
Latest list: Entries 2011–2021, The Marshall Project
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: None noted
Earlier lists: None available
NEW HAMPSHIRE [Public list]
Latest list: May 2019, HRDC
Notable bans: Blood in the Water; The Lovely Bones; Prison Nation
Context: Several banned books are critical of the prison system.
Earlier lists: None available
NEW JERSEY [Public list]
Latest list: Jan 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: The New Jim Crow
Context: The ACLU of New Jersey obtained documents in 2018 ahead of legal action to restore access to that book.Earlier lists: 2018 (ACLU of New Jersey documents)
NEW YORK [Request only]
Latest list: Through 2019, NYCLU (hundreds of lists). Request the zip file by emailing bookstoprisoners@live.com
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: Lists were collected by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Earlier lists: None available
NORTH CAROLINA [Public list]
Latest list: Feb 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Kindred; The Bluest Eye; I Am Not Your Negro
Context: Disapproved books stay on the list for one year. The New Jim Crow was removed from the 2018 list after public outcry.
Earlier lists: Sep 2019 (HRDC) | Jan 2018 | 2016 (HRDC) | 2015 | 2013 (WRAL) | 2017 Mecklenburg County Jail books and magazines (HRDC)
OHIO [Public list]
Latest list: Jan 2022, PEN America
Notable bans: Blood in the Water; Trans Bodies, Trans Selves; Moral Injury
Context: Several banned books are critical of the prison system.
Earlier lists: Jun 2019 (HRDC)
OREGON [Review process]
Latest list: Jan 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Technology and programming books
Context: A three-person IT committee reviews each publication the mail room tries to ban, which BTP recommends other states copy.
Earlier lists: Feb 2022 (Oregon DOC) | 2019 (Salem Reporter)
PENNSYLVANIA [Public list]
Latest list: PA Department of Corrections (updated quarterly)
Notable bans: D&D and Pathfinder manuals (ban rescinded in 2016)
Context: The list only includes titles that went through a grievance or publisher appeal, so the true number of rejections is likely higher.
Earlier lists: None available
RHODE ISLAND [Public list]
Latest list: Entries 2018–2023, PEN America
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: None noted
Earlier lists: None available
SOUTH CAROLINA [Public list]
Latest list: Oct 2019, HRDC
Notable bans: Prison Legal News; Teen Vogue; crochet books
Context: This is the first known public list for the state.
Earlier lists: None available
TEXAS [Public list]
Latest list: 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: Figure drawing books; John Grisham novels; Civil Rights Movement histories
Context: Bans are cumulative. The list grew by about 2,500 titles between 2019 and Oct 2021, and by 2012 more than 11,000 titles were banned.
Earlier lists: 2022 (PEN America) | Oct 2021 | Apr 2019 | 2018 and Jan–Jun 2019 (HRDC) | 2017 (Muckrock, Dallas Morning News) | 2011 (Texas Civil Rights Project)
VIRGINIA [Public list]
Latest list: Dec 2022, PEN America
Notable bans: Authors Louis L’Amour, James Patterson, and John Grisham (from a partial 2001 list)
Context: HRDC notes that some columns in the files Virginia sent were misaligned.
Earlier lists: Mar 2019 books, magazines, and miscellaneous materials (HRDC) | 2001 partial list
WASHINGTON [Public list]
Latest list: Frequently updated PDF, WA Department of Corrections
Notable bans: Trans Bodies, Trans Selves; The Dark Net
Context: The state publishes and updates the list on its own site.
Earlier lists: None available
WISCONSIN [Public list]
Latest list: Sep 2023, PEN America
Notable bans: D&D and other tabletop RPGs; materials by Mumia Abu-Jamal
Context: A court upheld the D&D ban on the grounds that it encourages gang behavior.
Earlier lists: Sep 2019 (HRDC) | magazines 2006–2019 | 2013 library materials reviewed
WYOMING [Public list]
Latest list: Oct 2022, PEN America
Notable bans: None highlighted
Context: None noted
Earlier lists: None available