BOOKS UNDER FIRE

A new list of the most cancelled books in the US includes some of the most revered texts. Here, Alex Hannaford talks to the librarians on the front line of the battle for free speech

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What do A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Forever by Judy Blume, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire all have in common? Answer: they’re among the most-banned books of the last school year in America.

That’s the same A Clockwork Orange that Time magazine included in its list of 100 best English-language novels since 1923 (the year the magazine was founded). The same beloved children’s author, Blume, who wrote Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. And the very same Wicked that imagined the backstory of the wicked witch of the West from L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Ariana Grande.

According to the latest report from PEN America, which fights to protect the right to free expression, Stephen King is now the most banned author in US schools.

It has terrifying echoes of the McCarthy era in America, when suspicion of communism led to blacklists targeting actors, writers, and intellectuals, stifling careers and silencing dissent. Today, a new wave of censorship is sweeping through the country, and with Donald Trump’s return to power, these efforts have only intensified, creating an environment in which fear and political pressure threaten the free expression of ideas – and some say democracy itself. Which is all quite ironic when you consider the rhetoric about freedom of speech that is also coming from this administration, leading to the conclusion that speech should be free only when you are saying what they want you to say.

And it’s not just books. Since Trump became self-appointed chair of Washington DC’s Kennedy Center (and overhauled its board) in early 2025, more than 20 productions and events have been cancelled or postponed, including Hamilton and the children’s musical Finn.