Why Stephen King’s Books Are Banned From Florida Schools

When a society starts banning books, it’s a clear problem with a sign on the way or has already arrived.

When the Nazis began to ban and burn books in 1930s Germany, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said“Books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die.” Viewing the Third Reich as a threat not only to democratic rule but to humanity in general, Roosevelt added: “No man and no power can take from the world the books that embody man’s eternal struggle against tyranny. In this war we know that books – these books are weapons.”

It’s 2025 in the US, and trouble has crossed the threshold and tracked filthy ignorance across the nation’s living room. What follows will be a source of deep concern for those who have paid attention to the campaigns of President Donald J. Trump, promises to prosecute those who challenge him in government and/or in the press. All we can do is wait and see if he follows through on these threats.

At the same time, we can look at the turbulent growth of book bans across the country as a chilling preview of upcoming attractions. According to attorney Pen America America, enrollment in U.S. public schools will nearly triple for the 2023-2024 school year. Meanwhile, a 2024 report from the American Library Association’s office on intellectual freedom showed a record 4,000 unique titles from the lines for the ban the year before.

One author coming under increased fire from the censors is Stephen King. Unfortunately, that makes sense considering he’s one of the most prolific writers working today, and he specializes in the gritty horror genre. But Some of King’s books (many of which were made into great movies) that have been removed from public schools, especially in the deep red state of Florida, are generally not horror and contain little in the way of objectionable material. So what gives?

According to a 2024 Newsweek articlemore than 60 Stephen King books have been banned from Florida public schools. Considering this To date, the king has published 65 booksthat means they’re pretty much all off the shelves. To clarify, some counties have banned more king titles than others. For example, Clay County, which includes much of suburban Jacksonville, went above and beyond by removing King’s entertainingly instructive: A Memoir of Ships. Other than some couch potato, I can’t think of a single reason why this book would be harmful to minors.

And that’s really what it’s all about. As Deborah Caldwell-Stone of AL for Intellectual Freedom stated, Legally Harmful to Minors.” The term “legally harmful” is a stretch, and it’s a particularly strange fee for King’s writing. The man is certainly not a fan of Christian zeal (Beginning with his first novel, Carrie, which is vital young adult fiction), but when his books get political it’s usually about social justice or authoritarianism. However, questioning authority is anathema to a government determined to impose its voracious will on its citizens. This makes the king a dangerous peddler of ideas.

What does the King think of all this? When Florida’s ban banned Sperry from the top, he tweeted: “Florida banned 23 pf (sic) my books. What the f***?” He later reiterated his rule when it comes to the censorship of literature, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If books are banned from school libraries, run to your public library or the nearest bookstore and read that they’re yours. the elders don’t want you to know.” Amen, Mr. King.