List of books banned by governments

Banned books are books or other printed works such as essays or plays which have been prohibited by law, or to which free access has been restricted by other means. The practice of banning books is a form of censorship, from political, legal, religious, moral, or commercial motives. This article lists notable banned books and works, giving a brief context for the reason that each book was prohibited. Banned books include fictional works such as novels, poems and plays and non-fiction works such as biographies and dictionaries.

Since there have been a large number of banned books, some publishers have sought out to publish these books. The best-known examples are the Parisian Obelisk Press, which published Henry Miller's sexually frank novel Tropic of Cancer, and Olympia Press, which published William Burroughs's Naked Lunch. Both of these, the work of father Jack Kahane and son Maurice Girodias, specialized in English-language books which were prohibited, at the time, in Great Britain and the United States. Ruedo ibérico [es], also located in Paris, specialized in books prohibited in Spain during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Russian literature prohibited during the Soviet period was published outside of Russia.

Many countries throughout the world have their own methods of restricting access to books, although the prohibitions vary strikingly from one country to another.

Despite the opposition from the American Library Association (ALA), books continue to be banned by school and public libraries across the United States. This is usually the result of complaints from parents, who find particular books not appropriate for their children (e.g., books with depictions of LGBTQ+ individuals, like Gender Queer: A Memoir). In many libraries, including the British Library and the Library of Congress, erotic books are housed in separate collections in restricted access reading rooms. In some libraries, a special application may be needed to read certain books. Libraries sometimes avoid purchasing controversial books, and the personal opinions of librarians have at times affected book selection.

The following list of countries includes historical states that no longer exist.

The distribution, promotion of different Bible versions and verses or translation seen as incorrect that have been prohibited or impeded throughout its history. Violators of Bible prohibitions have at times been punished by imprisonment, forced labor, banishment and execution, as well as the destruction or confiscation of the Bibles. In most cases this was related to them being viewed as incorrect and different from the accepted canon within the religion but there are also examples of the distribution and promotion of the Bible and the religion being banned in general and are ongoing in various jurisdictions.

In today's Germany, a book is considered banned if it has been confiscated by a court. The distribution of a confiscated book is prohibited, but private possession and reading is still legal (with the exception of child and youth pornographic material, where possession is already a criminal offense).

The official list of confiscated books was published by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz) in the magazine "BzKJaktuell" until the beginning of 2022.

The list of confiscated books should not be confused with books on the "List of Media Harmful to Young Persons" (colloquially known as the "Index"). Books indexed by the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons are subject to strict restrictions and may only be offered and sold to adults.

This list collectively lists media that violate one of the following paragraphs:

• Section 86: Dissemination of propaganda material of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations
• Section 86a: Use of symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations
• Section 130: Incitement of masses
• Section 130a: Instructions for committing criminal offences

• Censorship by country
• Criticism of Amazon
• Areopagitica: A speech of Mr John Milton for the liberty of unlicensed printing to the Parliament of England
• Banned Books Museum
• Book burning
• Burning of books and burying of scholars
• Internet censorship
• Challenge (literature)
• International Freedom of Expression Exchange
• Index Librorum Prohibitorum
• List of authors and works on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
• List of banned films
• List of banned video games
• List of book burning incidents
• Television censorship

• Banned Books, 4 volumes, Facts on File Library of World Literature, 2006.
  • Literature Suppressed on Political GroundsISBN 0-8160-6270-6
  • Literature Suppressed on Religious GroundsISBN 0-8160-6269-2
  • Literature Suppressed on Sexual GroundsISBN 0-8160-6272-2
  • Literature Suppressed on Social GroundsISBN 0-8160-6271-4
• Academic freedom in Indonesia, Human Rights Watch, 1998
• Paying the price: freedom of expression in Turkey, Lois Whitman, Thomas Froncek, Helsinki Watch, 1989
• Karolides, Nicholas J. (2006). Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-6270-6.
• Darnton, Robert (1996). The Forbidden Best-Sellers of Pre-Revolutionary France. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0393314421.

• Beacon For Freedom of Expression^[usurped]
• The Literature Police: Apartheid Censorship and its Cultural Consequences
• New Zealand Office of Film & Literature Classification
• Australia classification board
• UK libraries "Banned books 2011" challenging censorship in literature
• Banned Books That Shaped America
• Banned Books and Prints in Europe and the United States, 17th–20th Centuries