According to a report by PEN America earlier this year, 39% of the 1,091 most commonly banned titles in the 2023-2024 school year featured LGBTQ+ characters or people. So it's no surprise that indies around the country would draw inspiration for their June Pride Month displays from banned books.
As Pride Month 2025 comes to a close next week, PW is providing our readers with a sampling of displays around the country, as booksellers mixed pride with banned books, which invariably included at least some of the titles recommended by PEN America on its 2025 Pride Month banned book reading list. This year’s display mainstays (and frequently targeted in libraries and classrooms) included Mike Curato’s Flamer, Juno Dawson’s This Book Is Gay, George M. Johnson’s All Boys Aren’t Blue, and Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer. —CK
