Utah has become the first US state to enforce a statewide ban on books, ordering the removal of 13 titles from all public school classrooms and libraries. The list includes works by prominent authors such as Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, Rupi Kaur, and Sarah J Maas. According to PEN America's Jonathan Friedman, this marks the first time a state has outlawed a list of books across all its schools.
The ban was enacted under House Bill 29, effective from 1 July, which requires all 41 public school districts in Utah to remove books deemed to contain 'pornographic or indecent' material. The law triggers a ban if a book is prohibited in three districts, or two districts and five charter schools. Twelve of the 13 titles were written by women, including six by fantasy author Sarah J Maas, alongside Atwood's Oryx and Crake, Kaur's Milk and Honey, and Blume's Forever.
Implementation guidelines state that banned materials must be 'legally disposed of' and 'may not be sold or distributed'. Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America's Freedom to Read programme, criticised the vague guidelines, warning they 'will undoubtedly result in dumpsters full of books that could otherwise be enjoyed by readers'. She added that while the law stops short of 'calling for book burning, the effect is the same: a signal that some books are too dangerous'.
A coalition called Let Utah Read, comprising organisations, librarians, teachers, and parents, has launched a petition to 'fix the sensitive materials law'. Meehan described the ban as 'a dark day for the freedom to read in Utah', arguing it 'will impose a dystopian censorship regime across public schools' and 'directly contravene local preferences'. She called the process 'anti-democratic', as it allows a handful of districts to make decisions for the entire state.
