Stephen King wasn't best pleased when a state in the USA banned more than 50 of his books in schools.
Florida undertook the decision in a move that saw children restricted from dozens of books - both from King and other authors.
It placed restrictions on school libraries across the state under landmark legislation signed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis way back in 2022.
King is of course best known for producing content that isn't exactly child friendly. Dubbed the King of Horror, he is the brain behind the likes of Carrie, The Shining, Misery, It, The Green Mile, and The Shawshank Redemption.
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The change to the law - which came in to effect in July 2023 - excluded dozens of books that included sexually explicit content.
This was after complaints from a conservative political organisation known as Moms for Liberty which actively campaigned to ban books in schools that mention gender and sexuality.
King himself found out about the ban second hand in September last year, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to vent his two cents at 23 of his own novels being included in the list.
He candidly wrote: "Florida has banned 23 of my books. What the f**k?"
Following the social media blow up, with King's tweet seen more than 15 million times before it was deleted, book publishers including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins Publishers filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida saying the ban violated rights to free speech as protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Books reported to have been banned include Carrie, Cujo, Doctor Sleep, Blaze, It, Pet Sematary, and Salem's Lot. The Miami New Times has reported that more than 50 of his books have now been banned in Florida schools.
Other books banned were Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
On top of that, even Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl made the banning list.
In a statement shared with Newsweek, King said: "I have said it before, and will say it again.
"When books are banned from school libraries, run to your public library, or the nearest bookstore, and read what it is your elders don't want you to know."
Collier County Public Schools, which runs 47 schools in Florida attended by more than 47,000 children, said the authority is 'putting fresh eyes on the list of books and overall review process to remain in alignment with Florida law'.
Non-compliance with the book banning order could result in third degree felonies, the school body explained.
The court case looking to overturn the ban remains active and unresolved, with the Florida state filing to throw the case out in December 2024. The case continues.
Topics: Stephen King, Books, US News, Celebrity, Film, Viral, Politics
Tom Earnshaw