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.

The usual reasons for banning books are pornography and obscenity, including child porn, anti-government or revolutionary provocation, propagating extremist philosophy such as Nazism, agitation of hate, instructions on violence, homicide or preparing illegal weapons and/or munitions, and/or blasphemy, especially in Islamic countries. Many books have been banned because of multiple reasons.

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

Albania Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes Përbindëshi (The Monster) (1965) Ismail Kadare 1965–1990 Novel Banned for 25years in Albania.

Argentina Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes Lolita Vladimir Nabokov 1955 Novel Was banned in the past for being "obscene".

Australia

Title Author(s) Year published Year banned Year unbanned Type Notes The Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio 1353 1927 1936 Story collection Banned in Australia from 1927 to 1936 and from 1938 to 1973. 1938 1973 The 120 Days of Sodom (1789) Marquis de Sade 1789 1957 *Unknown* Novel Banned by the Australian Government in 1957 for obscenity.University of Melbourne (2013). Banned Books in Australia– A Special Collections-Art in the Library Exhibition." "", Retrieved June 12, 2014 Droll Stories Honoré de Balzac 1837 1901 1923 Short stories Banned for obscenity from 1901 to 1923 and from 1928 to . 1928 1973 The Straits Impregnable Sydney Loch 1916 1914 *Unknown* Fictionalised autobiography First edition published as a novel, second edition banned by the military censor in Australia under regulations of the War Precautions Act 1914.Susanna & Jake de Vries (2007). To Hell And Back. NSW : HarperCollins Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) D. H. Lawrence 1928 1929 1965 Novel Banned from 1929 to 1965. Rowena Goes Too Far (1931) H. C. Asterley 1931 *Unknown* *Unknown* Novel Banned in Australia because of customs belief that it "lacked sufficient claim to the literary to excuse the obscenity". Luciusbooks.com. Retrieved on January 10, 2011. Brave New World Aldous Huxley 1932 1932 1937 Novel Banned in Australia from 1932 to 1937.The Cautious Amorist Norman Lindsay 1932 1933 1953 Novel Banned in Australia from 1933 to 1953."The Cautious Amorist". State Library of Queensland. May 11, 2017.Age of Consent 1938 by 1939 Novel Banned in Australia, briefly, in 1938.Bruce, Joan (May 25, 2017). "Age of Consent". State Library of Queensland. John Oxley Library. Forever Amber (1944) Kathleen Winsor 1944 1945 *Unknown* Novel Banned by Australia in 1945 as "a collection of bawdiness, amounting to sex obsession." Borstal Boy Brendan Behan 1958 *Unknown* Autobiographical novel Banned shortly after its ban in Ireland in 1958.Brendan Behan, Irish writer and playwright, Borstal Boy. FileRoom.org. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. Another Country James Baldwin 1962 1963 1966 Novel Banned in Australia by the Commonwealth Customs Department in February 1963. The Literature Censorship Board described it as "continually smeared with indecent, offensive and dirty epithets and allusions," but recommended that the book remain available to "the serious minded student or reader." The ban was lifted in May 1966. Ecstasy and Me Hedy Lamarr 1966 1967 1973 Autobiography Banned in Australia from 1967 to 1973. The World Is Full of Married Men (1968) Jackie Collins 1968 *Unknown* Novel Banned in Australia in 1968. The Stud (1969) 1969 *Unknown* Novel Banned in Australia in 1969. The Anarchist Cookbook William Powell 1971 1985 Currently banned Instructional The book was refused classification in 1985 thus making it banned in Australia under the National Classification Code Table1.(c) for publications that could "promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence" How to make disposable silencers (1984) Desert and Eliezer Flores 1984 *Unknown* *Unknown* Instructional An example of a class of books banned in Australia that "promote, incite or instruct in matters of crime or violence".Classification Review Board. Review meeting: February 7, 2007; Decision meeting: February 24, 2007. Australian Government American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991 1992 (ages 18+) *Unknown* (younger than 18) Novel Sale and purchase was banned in the Australian state of Queensland. Now available in public libraries and for sale to people 18 years and older. Sale restricted to persons at least 18 years old in the other Australian states. A Sneaking Suspicion (1995) John Dickson 1995 2015 Religious text Banned by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities from state schools on , on the basis of a "potential risk to students in the delivery of this material, if not taught sensitively and in an age appropriate manner." The ban was lifted The Peaceful Pill Handbook (2007) Philip Nitschke and Fiona Stewart 2007 Instructional manual on euthanasia The book was initially restricted in Australia; after review, the 2007 edition was banned outright.Office of Film & Literature Classification censorship.govt.nz You: An Introduction (2008) Michael Jensen 2008 2015 Religious text Banned by the New South Wales Department of Education and Communities from state schools on , on the basis of a "potential risk to students in the delivery of this material, if not taught sensitively and in an age appropriate manner." The ban was lifted No Game No Life (Volumes 1, 2, 9) Yuu Kamiya 2012–2016 2020 *Unknown* Novel Light novel volumes banned in Australia due to their depiction, "in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, [of] a person who is, or appears to be, a child under 18".

Austria

Title Author(s) Year published Year banned Year unbanned Type Notes The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 *Unknown* *Unknown* Novel Banned by the authorities in the Austrian territories ruled by the Habsburg monarchy."Austria", in Green, Jonathon, and Karolides, Nicholas, J. Encyclopedia of Censorship. New York : Facts On File, 2005. (pgs.36–38) Works Karl Marx 1841–1883 1938 1945 Nonfiction All of Marx's works were banned in Austria after the country was annexed by Nazi Germany. Works Albert Einstein 1901–1938 All of Einstein's works published up to 1938 were banned in Austria, after it was annexed by Nazi Germany. Mein Kampf (1925) Adolf Hitler 1925 1947 Political manifesto In Austria, the Verbotsgesetz 1947 prohibits the printing of the book. It is illegal to own or distribute existing copies. Following the general prohibition of advocating the Nazi Party or its aims in §3 and of re-founding Nazi organizations in §1, §3 d. of the Verbotsgesetz states: "Whoever publicly or before several people, in printed works, disseminated texts or illustrations requests, encourages or seeks to induce others to commit any of the acts prohibited under §1 or §3, especially if for this purpose he glorifies or advertises the aims of the Nazi Party, its institutions or its actions, provided that it does not constitute a more serious criminal offense, will be punished with imprisonment from five to tenyears, or up to twentyyears if the offender or his actions are especially dangerous."

Bangladesh

Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes Amar Fashi Chai (1999) Motiur Rahman Rentu 1999 Political The book, set in the political and social context of Bangladesh, was banned by the then–Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. The book describes various aspects of Sheikh Hasina's character. Rangila Rasul (1927) Pandit M. A. Chamupati 1927 Religious Currently banned in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850 by Ayesha Jalal The Satanic Verses (1988) Salman Rushdie 1988 Novel Banned for blasphemy against Islam. Rushdie received a fatwa for his alleged blasphemy. Naree (1992) Humayun Azad 1992 Criticism Banned in Bangladesh in 1995, though the ban was later lifted in 2000. Lajja (1993) Taslima Nasrin 1993 Novel Banned in Bangladesh,Bangladesh Seeks Writer, Charging She Insults Islam New York Times, June 8, 1994.Book Review New York Times, August 28, 1994. and a few states of India. Other books by her were also banned in Bangladesh or in the Indian state of West Bengal. Amar Meyebela (My Girlhood, 2002), the first volume of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi government in 1999 for "reckless comments" against Islam and the prophet Mohammad. Utal Hawa (Wild Wind), the second part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2002. Ka (Speak up), the third part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladeshi High Court in 2003. Under pressure from Indian Muslim activists, the book, which was published in West Bengal as Dwikhandita, was banned there also; some 3,000copies were seized immediately. The decision to ban the book was criticised by "a host of authors" in West Bengal, but the ban was not lifted until 2005. Sei Sob Ondhokar (Those Dark Days), the fourth part of her memoir, was banned by the Bangladesh government in 2004.

Belgium Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes Uitgeverij Guggenheimer("Guggenheimer Publishers") (1999) Herman Brusselmans 1999 Novel Banned in Belgium because this satirical novel offended fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester by making derogatory remarks about her personal looks and profession. A court decided the book was an insult to the individual's private life and ordered it to be removed from the stores.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes The Mountain Wreath (1847) Petar II Petrović-Njegoš 1847 Drama in verse Banned in Bosnian schools by Carlos Westendorp.

Brazil Title Author(s) Year published Type Notes Happy New Year (1975) Rubem Fonseca 1975 Short stories Banned in Brazil during the military dictatorship by order of the then Minister of Justice, Armando Falcão, under the accusation of "attacking morality and good habits". The author of the book, Rubem Fonseca, filed a lawsuit against the Brazilian government. In 1980, the case was tried for the first time and the judge upheld the ban, claiming that the work incited violence. The ban was lifted in 1985, with the end of the military dictatorship, but the book only received a new edition in 1989, when Fonseca appealed and won the case in court.

Canada