Industry & Advocacy News
August 20, 2024
In an alarming escalation of an ongoing trend toward censorship, Utah has become the first state to implement a sweeping, statewide ban on specific book titles in public schools. The law, which took effect on July 1, 2024, is part of a disturbing nationwide trend that has drawn fierce criticism from free speech advocates, including the Authors Guild and the American Library Association (ALA).
The ban stems from House Bill 29, which requires all of Utah’s public school districts to remove books and other instructional materials if three school districts—or two school districts and five charter schools—determine that they contain “objective sensitive material.” This means that the decisions of a small minority can now dictate the literary landscape for students across the entire state.
The law itself is overbroad, and its definition of pornography refers to a criminal statute relating to “public displays,” not books, which says that descriptions of “illicit sex or sexual immorality” (as defined under that law) have “no serious value for minors.” It effectively eliminates the need to conduct any balancing test to determine whether books have value and should therefore be retained, and instead refers to “non-discretionary standards.”
Also concerning are the implementation guidelines, which require that banned materials be “legally disposed of” (unlike laws in other states which require that materials be moved to where minors cannot access them) and prohibit their sale or distribution. This language eerily echoes historical instances of book burning and suppression of ideas.
The Utah State Board of Education’s newly released “No-Read List” spans an astonishing range of literature. Works by beloved children’s author Judy Blume, acclaimed poet Rupi Kaur, and the widely celebrated Margaret Atwood are among 13 titles now prohibited in all public school classrooms and libraries across the state.
The diversity of the banned books underscores the arbitrary nature of this censorship. From Blume’s Forever—a beloved coming-of-age novel dating back nearly half a century—to Kaur’s empowering poetry and Atwood’s dystopian warnings, these works represent a broad spectrum of human experience and artistic expression. Some of them have been staples in school curricula and libraries for decades, raising serious questions about the motivations behind their sudden removal. This retrospective censorship suggests that the ban is less about protecting young readers and more about controlling the narrative and limiting access to diverse perspectives.
Utah’s statewide ban is not an isolated incident, but rather a dramatic escalation in a disturbing nationwide trend. The ALA’s latest report reveals an unprecedented surge in book bans, with the number of titles targeted for censorship increasing by 65 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. This escalation has reached the highest levels ever documented by the ALA, with efforts made to censor 4,240 unique book titles in schools and libraries.
The Authors Guild has been at the forefront of legal challenges to book bans across the country. We have filed lawsuits with coalitions that successfully challenged unconstitutional state laws such as one in Texas that sought to ban books deemed “harmful to minors” or “sexually explicit” without clear definitions. We have continued to join the National Coalition Against Censorship in objecting to specific book bans and reminding school districts and boards of their responsibilities. We have also submitted several amicus briefs just this past year in cases challenging book bans, including in California and Iowa.
These legal actions underscore the constitutional implications of book bans. A healthy democracy requires vigorous literary debate, diversity of ideas, and tolerance for discourse that some may find challenging or even offensive. To allow a few individuals to limit the marketplace of ideas to ones they find acceptable is fundamentally anti-democratic and a dangerous step toward autocracy.
Let Utah Read, a coalition of organizations, librarians, teachers, and parents, has launched a petition to “fix the ‘sensitive materials’ law.” Their goal is to amend HB 29 and stop the banning of books across the state.
Sign the Petition Here
In addition to legal action, the Authors Guild has engaged in educational efforts, hosting webinars on book banning and censorship featuring authors whose works have faced challenges, particularly those from LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. As part of the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Guild has signed numerous letters urging school boards to reconsider removing books from library shelves without due process.
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