Students at Corner Canyon High School and other Canyons School District campuses will no longer find Stephen King's "Different Seasons" on library shelves. The 1982 collection of four novellas was officially added to Utah's statewide banned books list on July 6, making it the 36th title prohibited from all public school libraries in the state.

The ban means Canyons District schools must remove the book from circulation. Under Utah's House Bill 29, which took effect July 1, 2024, a title is banned statewide once at least three school districts determine it contains "objective sensitive material" as defined by state code. Four districts triggered the ban this time: Davis, Jordan, Washington County and Tooele County.

"Different Seasons" contains four novellas, two of which became iconic films. "The Body" was adapted into the 1986 movie "Stand by Me," and "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" became the 1994 film "The Shawshank Redemption." The collection also includes "Apt Pupil" and "The Breathing Method."

Davis School District's sensitive materials review committee found the book "violates the standards" because it describes "genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal," citing three specific pages, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

This is the second Stephen King title banned from Utah schools in 2026. His 1998 novel "Bag of Bones" was added to the list in February, when it became the 23rd banned title. The USBE list has grown by 13 titles since then.

King has faced book bans since the 1970s. In 1992, after a Florida school banned two of his novels, he wrote a guest column for the Bangor Daily News urging students to visit their public library, "where these frightened people's reach must fall short in a democracy."

The law's constitutionality is being challenged in federal court. In January 2026, a group of bestselling authors, including the Kurt Vonnegut Estate and authors Elana K. Arnold and Ellen Hopkins, filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Jason M. Groth, legal director of the ACLU of Utah, said at the time of the filing that the law "is built to snowball" because just three districts can trigger a statewide ban.

Canyons School District has not issued a public statement about the "Different Seasons" removal. Under HB 29, compliance is mandatory for all Utah public schools.

The full list of banned titles is maintained by the Utah State Board of Education and available as a public spreadsheet at schools.utah.gov/curr/librarymedia.