In December 2022, The Marshall Project released a useful online tool to search what books are banned in each state’s prison system.
From The Marshall Project: Banned Books Database
Book bans are a hot-button issue, with controversies erupting in public schools and libraries around the country. But far more restricted reading environments exist all over the United States: prisons.
Over the past year, reporters for The Marshall Project asked every state prison system for book policies and lists of banned publications. About half of the states said they kept such lists, which contained more than 50,000 titles. We’ve created a searchable database so you can see for yourself which books prisons don’t want incarcerated people to read.
For more about banned books and why they matter, read Keri Blakinger on prison censorship and the futility of restricting what people read behind bars.
