Horror master Stephen King was shocked to learn that 23 of his books have been banned in Florida, as his publisher joins a massive lawsuit against the state.
“What the fuck?” the famous author posted on X in response to hearing the news.
Hundreds of books have been removed from schools as a result of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Some of King’s novels that have reportedly been pulled from shelves include Carrie, It, The Gunslinger, The Running Man, and The Long Walk.
King’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, along with five other major publishers filed a lawsuit last week challenging the Florida law.
Stephen King was shocked to learn that 23 of his novels, including Carrie and It, have been banned in Florida.
Other publishers who have signed on include Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers and Sourcebooks.
Others who have joined the lawsuit include best-selling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie Halse Anderson, John Green, Jodi Picoult and Angie Thomas, as well as the Authors Guild, two students and two parents.
The list of banned books includes classics such as Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the publishers said.
“As publishers dedicated to protecting free speech and the right to read, the rise in book bans across the country continues to demand our collective action,” the group said in a joint statement.
‘Fighting unconstitutional legislation in Florida and across the country is an urgent priority.
‘We are steadfast in our support of educators, librarians, students, authors and readers: everyone deserves access to books and stories that showcase different perspectives and points of view.’
In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that limits access to materials containing “sexual conduct” in classrooms.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law in 2022, limiting access to materials containing “sexual conduct” in classrooms.
The Florida legislature passed an expanded version of the law in May 2023, restricting classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for all grade levels in public schools.
The law also makes it easier for parents to remove books they consider inappropriate from school shelves.
Anyone can challenge a book for any reason within their county. Once a challenge is filed, the book in question must be removed from the shelves during the review process, which can take weeks or months.
PEN America tracked 3,135 bans in 11 Florida school districts from July 1, 2021, through December 23, 2023.