Book bans and challenges: March 3, 2026

Here's the news on book bans, challenges, and other obstacles to literature and reading that we came across Tuesday, March 3, 2026.

• Utah has banned four more books from schools statewide: Breathless by Jennifer Niven, The Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley, The Handmaid’s Tale: The Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and illustrated by Renee Nault, and Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold; Arnold is already a party in a lawsuit against the state over its book bans (Book Riot).

• Philadelphia, like many US cities, has used libraries as warming centers during cold snaps, but the intensity of need of some of the people coming in for shelter has put a huge strain on the library system's staff (MSN).

• A poet's work was withdrawn from an issue of the publication Aftershock Review; now, she's suing Arts Council England, which funds the publication, over the decision (The Guardian).

• A Colorado study has identified a number of positive results that prison libraries provide to inmates, and the results suggest that their existence could reduce recidivism (Westword).