Banned or Censored Women Writers

    In celebration of freedom, here is a list of some women writers whose works have at one time or another earned the distinction of being banned.  Many of these women write children's' books, and their presence on this list reflects a concern over controlling what children may read.  Many others are women of color, which reflects a concern by minority groups that these women are not sending "the appropriate" messages about certain groups.  Afronet has a list of authors who have been challenged or banned as a result of these concerns. You may read more about some of the writers or their works by clicking on the indicated links.
       


    Maya Angelou
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

    Margaret Atwood
    The Handmaid's Tale

    Jean Auel
    Clan of the Cave Bear

    Lynne Reid Banks
    The Indian in the Cupboard

    Edna Barth
    Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbol

     Marion Dane Bauer
    On My Honor

     Ruth Bell
    Changing Bodies, Changing Lives

    Judy Blume
    Blubber
    Then Again, Maybe I Won't
    Forever

    Elaine Brown
    A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story

    Jane Leslie Conely
    Crazy Lady

    George Eliot
    Adam Bede

    Muriel Feelings
    Jambo Means Hello: The Swahili Alphabet

    Anne Frank
    The Diary of a Young Girl

    Mary Wilkins Freeman
    The Revolt of Mother

    Nancy Friday
    Women on Top

    Nancy Garden
    Annie on My Mind

    Sheila Garrigue 
    Between Friends

    Nikki Giovanni
    My House

    Bette Greene 
    The Drowning of Stephan Jones

    Madeleine L'Engle
    A Wrinkle in Time

    Audre Lorde
    Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches
    Zami, A New Spelling of My Name

    Lois Lowry
    The Giver

    Astrid Lundgren
    The Runaway Sleigh Ride

     Eve Merriam
    Halloween ABC

    Margaret Mitchell
    Gone With the Wind

    Toni Morrison 
    Beloved 

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
    The Alice Series

    Leslea Newman
    Heather Has Two Mommies

    Anne Rice
    The  Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
    Beauty's Punishment
    Beauty's  Release 

    Katherine Paterson
    Bridge to Terabithia
    The Great Gilly Hopkins

    Mary Renault
    The Last of the Wine

     Margaret Sanger
    Family Limitation

    May Sarton
    The Education of Harriet Hatfield

    Zilpha Snyder
    The Headless Cupid
    The Witches of Worm

    Amy Tan 
    The Joy Luck Club 

    Meredith Tax
    Families

    Alice Walker
    The Color Purple
    Possessing the Secret of Joy

    Michele Wallace
    Black Macho and the Myth of the Black Superwoman

    Laura Ingalls Wilder
     Little House on the Prarie