Australia
Australia's classification system allows authorities to restrict or ban publications considered offensive, with the Classification Board empowered to assign restricted or refused-classification ratings. The Queensland state government banned American Psycho outright in 1991 — a ban that remained in place until 2011 — while other states required it to be sold in plain wrapping. Australia's federal system means that enforcement has historically varied by state, and the country generally ranks well on international press freedom measures.
Banned books
American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis
American Psycho is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of The Observer notes that while "some countries [deem it] so potentially disturbing that it can only be sold shrink-wrapped", "critics rave about it" and "academics revel in its transgressive and postmodern qualities".
Government / national · 1991 · lifted
Explicit Material
Clive Hamilton
Government / national · 2020 · lifted
Frisk
Dennis Cooper
Government / national · 1992 · lifted
From Hell
Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell
Government / national · 2002 · lifted
High Times Encyclopedia of Recreational Drugs
High Times Magazine (eds.)
Government / national · 1978 · lifted
Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors
Rex Feral
Government / national · 1990
Hubert Selby Jr.: Last Exit to Brooklyn
Hubert Selby Jr.
Government / national · 1966 · lifted
Les 120 Journées de Sodome
Marquis de Sade
Government / national · 1957
Marquis de Sade: A Biography
Donald Thomas
Government / national · 1976 · lifted
Milo Manara: The Harem
Milo Manara
Government / national · 1990
Myra Breckinridge
Gore Vidal
No one remains untouched by the luscious Myra Breckinridge's quest for Hollywood fame. Her job teaching Empathy and Posture at the Academy of Drama and Modeling gives her the perfect opportunity to vamp, scheme, and seduce her way into the undiscovered lives and passions of others - while trying to keep a few secrets of her own. In the sequel, Myron, the Breckinridge saga takes an increasingly bizarre turn. Myron seems to be an inconspicuous man with a sweet wife and a Chinese catering busine
Government / national · 1968 · lifted
Peyton Place
Grace Metalious
Government / national · 1957 · lifted
Portnoy's Complaint
Philip Roth
Though is caused outrage and controversy at the time of its publication Roth’s comic novel of sexual obsession and frustration is now widely regarded as one of the best novels of the twentieth century.
Government / national · 1969 · lifted
Show Me
Will McBride
Government / national · 1975
Sons and Lovers
D.H. Lawrence
Government / national · 1930 · lifted
Spycatcher
Peter Wright
Government / national · 1987 · lifted
Steal This Book
Abbie Hoffman
Government / national · 1971 · lifted
The Anarchist Cookbook
William Powell
Government / national · 1972
The Clergyman's Daughter
George Orwell
Government / national · 1936 · lifted
The Lord of the Flies
William Golding
Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by Nobel Prize–winning British author William Golding. The book focuses on a group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempt to govern themselves. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. The novel has been generally well received. It was named in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor's list
School · 1980 · lifted
The Story of O
Pauline Réage
Government / national · 1960 · lifted
Total Abuse
Peter Sotos
Government / national · 1995