Stephen King has written an impressive number of novels and short stories throughout his literary career. Now, however, Stephen King is shocked to learn that nearly two dozen of his books have been banned in Florida school libraries.
The ban is the result of legislation signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. The law bans books in schools that contain any kind of sexually explicit material. Obviously many more titles were banned beyond the works of King, but for King himself to see 23 books of his banned is enough to warrant a post on social media.
Here’s the reaction as shared by Stephen King on X:
Florida has banned 23 pf my books.
What the fuck?— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 31, 2024
As shared via Newsweek, however, Stephen King issued a more elaborate response regarding his books being banned in Florida schools among other titles:
“I have said it before, and will say it again: When books are banned from school libraries, run to your public library, or the nearest bookstore, and read what it is your elders don’t want you to know.”
The outlet adds that “six major book publishers have sued the state of Florida” as a result. “The lawsuit was filed on Thursday,” the outlet continues, “by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Sourcebooks and argues that Florida’s law violates First Amendment rights to free speech.”
This debacle has gone on for quite some time, especially with the legislation having been signed in 2022. However, as more books are banned and influential people like Stephen King point out the situation, it only draws more attention and discussion. With lawsuits also now in the mix, this could go into some very interesting directions.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding author Stephen King and his work as we have them. This is certainly an interesting situation and we’ll have to see if there will be a resolution for those eager to read these Stephen King titles or have them available.