Ellen Hopkins is the most banned author in Iowa, with nearly 20 of her books being removed from school districts in the state a total of 289 times, according to a report by the Des Moines Register.
The newspaper published an investigation into the effects of Iowa’s 2023 law Senate File 496, which bans most books that describe sexual activities from the state’s schools. It found that there have been almost 3,400 book bans in the state, affecting about 1,000 different books.
Hopkins’ books, including her young adult novels Crank, Identical, and Tricks, were the most targeted titles in the Hawkeye State. At No. 2 was Sarah J. Maas, the popular romantasy author, whose books including A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Court of Mist and Fury were removed from school districts 232 times.
John Green is the third-most banned author in the state, with most of his 107 bans targeting his young adult novel Looking for Alaska. Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us) drew 104 bans, while Jodi Picoult wasn’t far behind with 101 removals, mostly of her novel Nineteen Minutes.
Rounding out the top 10 were Toni Morrison (Beloved), Patricia McCormick (Sold), Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why), Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale), and Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner).
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
