New Utah Law Bans 13 Books from Public School Libraries, 12 are by Women

Utah joined the growing list of states attempting to censor the holdings of public school libraries when a controversial new law passed earlier this year went into effect.

According to an Aug. 2 article in the Salt Lake Tribune the following titles are no longer permitted on the shelves in Utah public school libraries because state lawmakers considered their content “pornographic” or “indecent:”

“Blankets” by Craig Thompson.
“A Court of Frost and Starlight” by Sarah J. Maas.
“A Court of Mist and Fury” by Sarah J. Maas.
“A Court of Silver Flames” by Sarah J. Maas.
“A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas.
“A Court of Wings and Ruin” by Sarah J. Maas.
“Empire of Storms” by Sarah J. Maas.
“Fallout” by Ellen Hopkins.
“Forever” by Judy Blume.
“Milk and Honey” by Rupi Kaur.
“Oryx & Crake” by Margaret Atwood.
“Tilt” by Ellen Hopkins.
“What Girls Are Made Of” by Elana K. Arnold.

Of the thirteen titles twelve were by women, most notably Sarah J. Maas who wrote eight. According to Wikipedia, “Maas is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City. As of 2024, she has sold over 38 million copies of her books and her work has been translated into 38 languages.”

Also on the banned list were works by Margaret Atwood, Judy Blume, Ellen Hopkins, Elana K. Arnold and Rupi Kaur. The only male author cited was Craig Thompson.

The SL Tribune article said, “The books on this list had already been banned by select school districts or charters, but because of the new law signed by Gov. Spencer Cox in March, they will now be banned statewide.

The law, which went into effect July 1, requires that a book be removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts (or at least two school districts and five charter schools) determine it amounts to “objective sensitive material” — pornographic or otherwise indecent content, as defined by Utah code. The end of the Aug. 2 article also contains links to the paper’s ongoing coverage of the Utah censorship situation.

National and international coverage was not far behind the announcement. The NY Times , ABC News , NPR and the Guardian all gave the story prominent play in early August.

Reaction was not long in coming from other parts of the world of books:

Prominent Utah bookseller Ken Sanders issued a strongly worded statement to his friends and customers saying:

“I have been a bookseller in downtown Salt Lake City for almost fifty years. This current attempt by the State of Utah to force Utah schools to not carry certain books is the worst assault on intellectual freedom I have seen in my home state in all my years. It is an assault on not only public school librarians and teachers, but librarians, citizens and readers everywhere.

“We support everyone's right to choose the books they wish to read! Of course parents of minor children should be allowed to help their own children choose which books they read, but when zealous parents and blind bigoted legislators try to choose which books we can and can't read; here's a word for that: CENSORSHIP.

“We proudly carry all 13 of the Utah Banned 13 and hundreds of more books that have been banned in the past. I have been carrying banned books in my shops from the 1970s to the present and will continue to do so in the future.”

Sanders also shared a video link to his Facebook page which showed the covers of each of the banned titles.