Know 34 Banned Authors and The Reasons Why They Are Banned

Some of the most popular and influential authors today have been banned at one to another. Here is a list of those authors or writers with their books and discover why they have been banned:

Sl. No.	Name of Banned Authors	Reason why they are Banned
1	Maya Angelou	Her novels preach tolerance of homosexual and pre-marital sex. Many fundamentalist religious groups want to ban her books.
2	Aristophanes	Even ancient philosophers are not exempt from censorship His writings ‘encourage atheism and other undesirable avocations.’
3	Judy Blume	Her novels (some of them) contain premarital sex and homosexual references. Yes, the same woman who wrote Are you there, God? It’s Me Margaret.
4	Lewis Carrol	The man who wrote Alice in Wonderland has endured, over the years, accusations by groups wishing to ban his work that they ‘encourage drug use and child abuse.’
5	Naom Chomsky	This classic writer has been said to ‘invite anarchy and atheism.’
6	Anthony Burgess	His novels contain sexual situations and profanity.
7	Daniel Defoe	Yes, he who wrote Robinson Crusoe has been called “dangerously nurturing of the desire to run away.”
8	The Marquis De Sade	Known for his pornographic writings, de Sade was locked up in a mental asylum for his last days. His works live on, and are constantly alleged to be “insulting, blasphemous and pornographic.” They are, but Sade was a man who did not act upon his actions if he could write them down.
9	William Faulkner	His books are “insulting and contain vulgar situations.”
10	F. Scott Fitzgerald	His novels are degrading and upsetting towards the reader.
11	Anne Frank	Her classic diary (the indisputable record of Nazi Holland) has been called ‘too unsettling and inappropriate for classrooms or leisure reading’
12	Ernest Hemmingway	His books have been called “blasphemous and frightening.”
13	Aldous Huxley	His Brave New World has been called “centred around negative activity” and “an ambassador for atheism.”
14	James Joyce	The classic Irish writer of Ulysses has had his work alleged to be “a mockery of brilliant literature” and “inviting of evil temptations.”
15	George Orwell	The author of Animal Farm has been called “disrespectful to society.” (Animal Farm is a satire/documentation of the Russian Revolution and the Napoleonic wars.)
16	Sylvia Plath	The poet has had her work called ‘negative centred ‘unsettling’
17	Anne Rice	Her novels about vampires and other unsavory things have called “too frightening, unhappy and evil for teenagers.” Nonetheless, her books have sold millions of copies and have been made into multi-million dollar movies (often starring Antonio Banderas!)
18	Salman Rushdie	Has been censored for his “blasphemous and evil Satanic Verses.”
19	J.D. Salinger	His books, which contain sexual situations, have been called “inciting of evil habits.”
20	William Shakespeare	The King of innuendo, swordplay (and foreplay!). Shakespeare’s works have been called ‘disgusting, pathetic, incestuous, evil, blasphemous, terrible, disturbing, small-minded (!) works of treason. Whew. Not bad for the highest selling author in history. Fact: a drama teacher in the U.S. was fired from his job after trying to stage Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew. This play was called anti-Semitic and sexist, as was the play The Merchant of Venice
21	Jonathan Swift	His Gulliver’s Travels has been called “disrespectful and obscene.”
22	J.R.R. Tolkein	His Lord of the Rings trilogy has been called “disrespectful of Christian values.”
23	Mark Twain	An author whose work is often alleged to be “racist and obscene.”
24	Voltaire	This French philosopher was an atheist and published several pamphlets encouraging his beliefs.
25	Walt Whitman	This poet has been called ‘sacrilegious and utterly evil.’
26	Victor Hugo	Les Miserables, this book was banned for displaying prostitution, murder, portraying the church as unimportant and glorifying the French Revolution.
27	Nadine Gordimer	Regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest writers, Nadine Gordimer’s insights into human relationships and actions in a society defined by racial tension and systematic oppression are as extraordinary today as when they were first written in apartheid-era South Africa. Two of her most famous works, Burger’s Daughter (1979) and July’s People (1981) were condemned and banned in her home country for their controversial, anti-governmental themes.
28	Gustave Flaubert	The master of French realism, Flaubert’s work was met with both critical acclaim and accusations of immorality during his lifetime. In particular, his novel Madame Bovary (1856) was surrounded by controversy: telling the tale of the young, pretty and frustrated Emma, the novel details her disillusionment with marriage and provincial life, and her tragic downward spiral into infidelity and debt. It was subsequently banned in France for a short period, and Flaubert was placed on trial for offenses against public decency.
29	D. H. Lawrence	His novels have been deemed pornographic and obscene, and have been banned in multiple countries, including in the UK until 1960.
30	Toni Morrison	Toni Morrison is no stranger to censorship. Her novel The Bluest Eye was ranked as the second most banned book in the United States by the American Library Association, and has been frequently attacked for its so-called ‘pornographic’ language and content.
31	Vladimir Nobokov	French officials banned Lolita for being “obscene”.
32	J.K. Rowling	According to the American Library Association, Harry Potter is the most banned book in the United States, and has also been banned from private schools in the UAE, and largely criticized by the Iranian government’s press. The main criticism stems from religious groups, who have accused the books of promoting occultism and witchcraft.
33	John Milton	His essay, “Areopagitica” banned in UK for political reason.
34	John Steinbeck	His works have been called “blasphemous and insulting.”

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