Censorship & Banned Books

Database: Literary Reference Center Plus

Book Lists

• Most Banned Books of the 2024-2025 School Year ( PEN America)

• 120 Banned Books  (linked to Goodreads) 

• A Map of Forbidden Books in 2019 (See map below)

• The 12 Most Famous Banned Books of All Time (The Culture Trip)

• 50 Books That Were Banned (Stylist Magazine)

• 12 Noble Laureates in Literature who have  Been Banned, Censored or Exiled in the Past 20 Years

• Freedom to Read / Challenged Works (Canadian) / Bannings and Burnings in History (PDF)

• 10 Great Novels on Freedom of Expression That Aren't 1984 (The Lithub) 

• Banned & Challenged Comics

Censorship & Human Rights 

• Freedom to Read/Censorship in Canada

• Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE)

• Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)

• Banned Books: The History of Banned Books (USA resources)

• Index on Censorship: the voice of free expression

  • Student Reading Lists 

• Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)

• National Coalition Against Censorship/resources for students (USA)

• Pen Canada

• The American Library Association opposes widespread efforts to censor books in U.S. schools and libraries   (ALA 2021)

• How the new banned books panic fits into America’s history of school censorship (VOX 2022)

 "PEN Canada is a nonpartisan organization of writers that works with others to defend freedom of expression as a basic human right, at home and abroad. PEN Canada promotes literature, fights censorship, helps free persecuted writers from prison, and assists writers living in exile in Canada.

Book Banning & Censorship in Canada

• A Confluence of Trends in Library Censorship

• The Alberta book ban saga | Front Burner (26 min.)

• 30 Books You May Be Surprised to Learn Were Challenged in Canada

• Banned and Challenged Books: TPL Staff Picks for the 2019 Reading Challenge

• 10 countries use Canadian filtering technology, researchers say (CBC)

• Sook-Yin Lee Calls Out Call-Out Culture In Canada (Refinery29)

• Author Defends The Shepherd's Granddaughter

• Ontario librarians say 'they have to be ready' amid growing calls in U.S. to ban books

• I help librarians handle book bans. Here’s why it’s getting worse. (Macleans)

Podcasts

• Alberta’s school book ban: Paused but not gone? | The Current (CBC)

• The Alberta book ban saga | Front Burner (CBC)

• Banned Library

• Books Reclaimed from Nazi Fires

• Dewey Decibal Podcast: Banned Books

• Free Speech (BBC Radio 4 Podcast)

Poetry & Music

• Poetry's Place in the History of Banned Books (Poetry.org)/ 

  • Why You Should Read Mahmoud Darwish | HuffPost Life

• TURN THAT DOWN! 40 BANNED AND CENSORED SONGS