Book Banning Two

History of Book Banning

The theme of book banning has remained relatively consistent throughout history. Its intention is to restrict access to ideas. The factors that change over time are the motivations behind book banning and the form of its implementation. Book banning is largely controlled and moderated by governing bodies which have the capacity to create and enforce book banning laws. Since the inception of large-scale publishing capabilities, originating from the invention of the Gutenberg Press and the subsequent printing/dissemination of the Gutenberg Bible. Church and civil authorities across Europe became very concerned about the efficiency in which ideas, especially those deemed heretical or unorthodox, could reach a large number of people. This was also during a very divided time in Europe, both religiously and governmentally. During the rise of Protestantism, the Roman Catholic Church quickly became infamous for its strict censorship practices. In 1612, a law was implemented in France that only books approved by the royal authority (which was inherently also church authority) could be printed, and in 1635 the punishment of death was enforced upon those that attempted to print books without permission. Additionally, King Loius XIV declared that all publishing apprentices must be both naturally born French and Roman Catholic.

A common factor that drove civil and church authorities in Europe to adopt censorship practices was a fear of foreigners and alien ideas. In 1534 it became illegal to purchase books from foreign authors, publishers, or sources. This principle holds true across the centuries. Frequently, governing officials feel the need to shield their public from ideas that they consider harmful either to the minds of their subjects or to the stability of their own rule. The reason that simpler censorship practices such as higher taxation and trade restrictions frequently escalate into violent forms of censorship, such as book burning and executions, is because book banning as a whole is largely driven by fear. This is why, today, the push for book censorship largely originates from disgruntled parents who are afraid of their children being exposed to ideas they find harmful to their development or to the type of mindscape they attempt to cultivate within their children. While the interface of book banning is now mostly parents versus public/school libraries, there are echoes of old conflicts between church/civil authority and the realm of free publishing.

Data/Statistics

• According to the American Library Association, "pressure groups and government entities that include elected officials, board members, and administrators initiated 72% of demands to censor books in school and public libraries."
•        (16% parents, 12% "other")​
• In 2024 ALA tracked:​
•        821 attempts to censor library materials​
•        2,452 unique titles targeted for censorship

Artists Impacted

What artists work on a book?

Many artists have to work on a singular book in order for it to get published. First, and author has to write the book. An author, by definition, is a writer of a literary work. Then, once the book is approved for publishing, it gets worked on again by many other creative people. An illustrator is a person who draws/creates images, and specifically in this case, for books. An illustrator for a novel is possibly responsible for the cover of the book, and possibly illustrate images inside the books for younger audiences. Another creative who works on a book are translators. Translators, well, translate the language of one book to another. For example, Fredrik Backman's books are based in Sweden, therefore he needs translator to translate his books from Swedish to English for English-reading audiences.

How are artists affected?

Not only are authors affected by book bans, but other artists such as illustrators and translators are also affected. When a book gets banned, not only does the author's creative liberty gets restricted as well. Throughout the 2024-2025 school year, book bans affected the works of almost 2,600 artists including 2,308 authors, 243 illustrators and 38 translators. The majority of authors who are targeted often have themes of race/racism, gender identity and sexuality/sex. Due to this, minority authors who write about these sorts of topics get their messages restricted more than others.

As an example, Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner describes his experiences and thought on book banning. He describes that his book has been banned or challenged since 2008 due to topics of sexual violence and promotion of Islam/terrorism. Khaled said that while book banning hasn't benefited or hurt his success, he does realize that the groups who ban his books are intolerant of diversity. This is a loss for the students, who see it as their worldview being narrowed. Though Khaled's book was banned, he talks about he got 20 years worth of letters saying how The Kite Runner encouraged students to stop bullying, defy intolerance, volunteer, and look more into Afghanistan culture.

Solutions

What can authors do?

The number one way for authors to fight against book bans is coming together to speak up about it. One such organization called The Author's Guild advocates for the rights of professional writers to create, publish, and earn a sustainable living as fiction and nonfiction writers, poets, translators and journalists. They claim that book banning affects these rights and strive to stop book banning.

What can these groups do?

These advocacy groups can come together to challenge federal, state, and local attempts to censor or ban books. One way is through legal action. If a book is banned and it doesn't have the right to be banned, it will be challenged by organizations as the The Author's Guild to allow that book to stay in schools, libraries, universities, etc. Another way is through advocacy. By speaking up about book banning, more people get informed and learn about the dangers of book banning. Therefore, when they see an injustice toward an author's rights, they can come together to back them up. Finally, organizations can coordinate with other organizations to increase the spread of the word of book banning. The Author's Guild and other organizations dedicated to publisher and author's rights can come together through one big organization, Authors Against Book Bans, to discuss and talk about book banning. Other groups such as PEN America, the Human Rights Campaign, and the American Library Association (ALA) are also apart of this huge organization.

What can YOU do?

While it seems that one person speaking out book banning can't change anything, that isn't true. If one person speaks out, then others will. One way to fight against book banning is organization in your community. Gather a group of people who are also passionate about book banning and do many things such as: speaking out at your local school board meeting, writing letters defending books to your local newspaper, sending a postcard/letter thanking a banned author for their work, share your story on social media, and report a local book ban to PEN America. Another way is to vote in your local elections. Even asking at the smallest levels about book banning helps to protect student access to books. Through these answers, find out what candidate you believe will be the best for the freedom of speech in literature and vote! You can also write letters to state legislators telling them to end book bans to prevent the unnecessary removal of books. Another simple way to stop book banning is by checking out and reading books that are banned or going to an event with a banned author. This shows that you support banned books at even the smallest level. Lastly, you can join organization groups, such as PEN America to advocate for the freedom to write and celebrating the essential voices of literature.