In the year 2023, 69 of Stephen King’s books were banned in Florida public schools. All 69 removals took place in a single county: Clay County.
In 2023, Clay County banned 287 of the more than 700 books banned in Florida. This made Clay County the No. 1 book-banning county in Florida. This dubious honor was earned, in part, thanks to Bruce Friedman, the father of a Clay County high school student. Friedman has forbidden his son to enter his school’s library.
Friedman is a member of the conservative activist group “No Left Turn in Education.” He was interviewed on The Daily Show in December 2024. He said, in the last two years, he has “challenged more than one book every calendar day.”
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, in a submission to the Clay County School District, Friedman wrote: “Please consider removing ALL Stephen King from our schools.”
Many of King’s novels discuss mental health issues and substance abuse, both of which King has openly suffered with. The Shining features an abusive alcoholic father, Jack Torrance. Its sequel, Doctor Sleep, follows Torrance’s son, Danny, who grows up to be an alcoholic like his father. Danny finds peace and redemption through Alcoholics Anonymous, a program King refers to in many of his books.
“Hey, kids! It’s your old buddy Steve King telling you that if they ban a book in your school, haul your ass to the nearest bookstore or library ASAP and find out what they don’t want you to read.”