(NEW YORK)— South Carolina has voted to ban 10 more books in public schools statewide, raising the total to 22. This makes it the leading state for mandated book bans in every K-12 public school, replacing Utah, which currently has mandated bans on 18 books statewide.
On Tuesday, all but two members of the South Carolina Board of Education voted to add 10 more books to the previous 12 titles banned throughout the state under the mechanism for statewide bans, Regulation 43-170; these banned titles largely originated from book challenges by a single parent in Beaufort County. South Carolina is one of three states with a mechanism for banning books in all state public schools, alongside Utah and Tennessee. To date, there have been no reports that Tennessee used its mechanism for statewide bans.
“The implementation of Regulation 43-170 has ignored South Carolinians’ requests to retain these titles and defeated the idea of local control in public education,” said Madison Markham, program coordinator, Freedom to Read at PEN America. “Banning books that tell stories about real-world situations that young people face does them a disservice. In particular, books that include sexual consent or educate about sexual assault can protect young people facing difficult and dangerous situations in real life. It’s especially discouraging that the board went full steam ahead with banning these books in all schools statewide, after raising concerns last month that challenges to them had originated in a single school district.”
The books on the list include titles intended for young adult readers that address sex-related topics as well as LGBTQ+ characters. Of the 27 total books challenged at the state level (where 22 were banned and 5 were retained), 52% address sexual violence, 52% address mental health, and 48% address death and grief. Further, 51% have real people or characters of color and 30% have LGBTQ+ characters or people.
PEN America, in documenting the rise of book bans nationwide since 2021, has reported that the books being banned are predominantly titles that have long fought for a place on library shelves—books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, and by women, along with books about racism, sexuality, gender, and the history of underrepresented groups.
The 22 books now mandated to be banned either by removal or restriction throughout South Carolina K-12 public schools are:
- Collateral, by Ellen Hopkins*
- Empire of Storms, by Sarah J. Mass*
- Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie*
- Hopeless, by Colleen Hoover*
- Identical, by Ellen Hopkins*
- Kingdom of Ash, by Sarah J. Mass*
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo*
- Living Dead Girl, by Elizabeth Scott*
- Lucky, by Alice Sebold*
- Tricks, by Ellen Hopkins*
- All Boys Aren’t Blue, by George M. Johnson
- A Court of Frost and Starlight, by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Mist and Fury, by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
- A Court of Wings and Ruin, by Sarah J. Maas
- Crank, by Ellen Hopkins (Restricted)
- Damsel, by Elana Arnold
- Flamer, by Mike Curato
- Push,by Sapphire
- Normal People, by Sally Rooney
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
- Ugly Love, by Colleen Hoover
*denotes one of the 10 books newly added to South Carolina’s statewide ban list
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.
Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], (201) 247-5057