PEN America has released a report highlighting a disturbing trend of book bans in US schools, noting that approximately 23,000 books have been banned since 2021. The report particularly points out that Stephen King has become the most banned author in US schools, reflecting a growing normalization of censorship within educational institutions. Free speech advocates express concern over the systematic removal of books from school libraries, especially in states like Florida, which has been marked as the state with the highest number of bans for three consecutive years. As debates regarding literary censorship intensify, public figures like King have spoken out, asserting that such actions contradict the values of freedom and expression in America.