With the 2024 election results being announced on Nov. 6, 2024, many changes are being announced that will change things drastically with Project 25. One of these changes is the new banned books list and book content.
The banned books list is exactly how it sounds: books that are banned. These books often challenge social norms such as having LGBTQ+ characters, witchcraft, sexually explicit content etc. Once these books are banned, the materials are often removed from the shelves of libraries and more often sold and published.
As of the past week, 389 titles have been added to the banned books list, which can be found using the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10NwV38Rp6EF8X8p7Qa2iXpSFn9m46v717DQtJkLictI/htmlview?urp=gmail_link .
Many beloved favorites such as “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling, “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sara J. Mass, “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard, “Kingsbane” by Claire Legrand and “Red White and Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston are just a few examples of pieces of work that will be banned or at risk of being banned in the year of 2025.
While these books and more titles continue to be added, there is a big question of—What does this mean for authors?—whether they are best-selling, newly published or have yet to be published.
Publishing companies and authors often love to show diversity in books to help readers feel connected and heard. With the list of banned books increasing in length, diversity in books will clearly decrease. Publishing companies will be forced to decline authors with specific content. However, not all hope is lost.
There are many companies who are going to fight against it and try as hard as they can to keep more diverse books on their shelves. One of these companies is the American Library Association, known as the ALA. On Nov. 6, 2024, the ALA spoke out about the election results and what this means for them in terms of what books remain on the shelves, in which they stated the following:
“In response to results of the 2024 United States election, the American Library Association (ALA) vowed to continue its defense of the core values of librarianship in the face of political threats.
‘We know that many of our members are concerned that the election results portend attacks on libraries, library workers, and readers,’ said ALA President Cindy Hohl. ‘Whatever happens, ALA will stand up for all Americans’ freedom to read — and we will need everyone who loves libraries to stand with us.’
To support ALA’s advocacy and defense of intellectual freedom, please join or donate to ALA. “
As more books continue to be added to the banned books list, readers should stay strong in keeping their favorite pieces alive, and writers should continue to write what they feel should be heard and create art they are proud of.
