Books by Judy Blume, Margaret Atwood, Rupi Kaur and Sarah J Maas have been banned in Utah after a new law ordered the removal of texts in public schools and libraries that are considered to contain “pornographic or indecent” material.
Under the changes, which came into effective from 1 July, Margaret Atwood’s Oryx & Crake, Judy Blume’s Forever and Rupi Kaur’s best-selling collection of poems, Milk and Honey are among thirteen titles that have been ordered to be removed from all public school classrooms and libraries across Utah.
Other books that have been banned include Blankets by Craig Thompson, What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold, a collection of titles by Sarah J Maas and two books by YA novelist Ellen Hopkins.
Twelve of the 13 titles that have been banned are authored by women.
Previously, a number of states across the United States have passed laws to facilitate book bans, but Utah is now the first state to outlaw a list of books, according to Jonathan Friedman, the managing director of U.S. free expression and education programs at PEN America.
According to a statement released by PEN America, the list “will likely be updated as more books begin to meet the law’s criteria.”
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said it was a “dark day for the freedom to read in Utah.”
“The state’s No-Read List will impose a dystopian censorship regime across public schools and, in many cases, will directly contravene local preferences,” she said.
“Allowing just a handful of districts to make decisions for the whole state is antidemocratic, and we are concerned that implementation of the law will result in less diverse library shelves for all Utahns.”
Under the new law in Utah, schools must now dispose of the books on the list and the books “may not be sold or distributed”.
A Utah-based organisation working to champion freedom to access diverse and inclusive literature has started a petition to stop the “statewide book purges” and “fix the ‘sensitive materials’ law”.
“Unlike some legislators who are out to make political hay and use national culture war issues to divide us, Utahns understand that great American authors like Judy Blume…are not pornographers, and no one should be criminally charged for selling, giving, or lending a book to a high school student,” the petition states.
“We also understand that our communities should have the right to elect local board members who make educational policy that support local students and parents.”
Book bans in the US have risen exponentially in the last 18 months, according to a report by the American Library Association (ALA) earlier this year. The report found a 65 per cent rise in book bans in 2023 compared to the previous year, with many titles being targeted due to their contents dealing with issues including LGBTQ+ communities and race.