PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out.
- PEN America brought together more than 600 writers, publishers, journalists, and arts and entertainment luminaries in New York City for its annual Literary Gala. Hosted by actor and author B.J. Novak, the evening honored outstanding contributors to literature and defenders of free expression, including bestselling author and bookseller Ann Patchett, Oscar-nominated film producer Jason Blum, the Rutherford County Library Alliance of Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Iranian writers Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi. Read more, and check out the AP’s coverage of the night.
- PEN America released its seventh annual Freedom to Write Index, which found that the number of writers jailed globally surpassed 400, marking an increase of 68% since 2019. China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia topped the list of this year’s jailers, and for the first time, the United States was included on the list. See the full Freedom to Write Index here, and read coverage of it in The Independent, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and Iran Focus.
- PEN America launched America Speaks, a multimedia project that invites the public to reflect on the state of free expression in the U.S. today as a way of marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. “The debate over free speech and free expression is as charged as ever. But that’s exactly why the conversation matters,” said Co-CEO Summer Lopez. Read more about the project, and add your voice here.
- Each year, PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program invites incarcerated writers from across the United States to participate in the National Poetry Writing Month challenge. A new zine, Remnants of Being, collects some of their responses. Learn more, and check out the zine.
- PEN America sounded the alarm on attacks against press freedom after a Wall Street Journal report indicated the news outlet received grand jury subpoenas for records of its reporters. “The White House and Pentagon may be uncomfortable with scrutiny of their decisions, but the Justice Department should know better than to punish constitutionally protected newsgathering,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director. Read more, and see coverage of Richardson’s quote in The Hill and USA Today.
- After public schools in Duval County, Fla., removed dozens of books without a clearly defined or transparent review process, PEN America called for increased transparency. “Without transparency, there is no accountability. And without accountability, the door opens to arbitrary censorship,” said Florida Director William Johnson. Read the full statement.
- In conversation with Pulitzer Prize finalist Katie Kitamura at the 2026 World Voices Festival, author Siri Hustvedt described her new book, Ghost Stories: A Memoir, as a resurrection. “I wanted to bring something back of this person that I loved on the page,” she said of her late husband, Paul Auster. Catch up on the talk.
- PEN America celebrated Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s signing of the Protecting Artists’ Creative Freedom Act, applauding it as a model that should be adopted by other states and the federal government. Read more.
- For our latest PEN Ten interview, we talked to Gal Beckerman, author of How to Be a Dissident, who says he needed the book as much as anyone. “The book came … not because I myself have something to teach others, but because I felt I had something to learn,” he said. Check out the full interview.
- Amy Reid, program director for Freedom to Learn, was quoted in a story by The Hechinger Report about a Utah law that allows students to opt out of coursework in conflict with their beliefs. “You encourage students to engage with ideas, and you provide them with the support that they need — which can be different for individual students — so that they are able to complete the work,” Reid said. Read more.
- Inside Higher Ed spoke to Kristen Shahverdian, director of campus free speech, for an article about the cancellations of commencement speakers at colleges and universities across the country. Read the story.
- Knoxville News Sentinel quoted Tasslyn Magnusson, senior advisor to the Freedom to Read program, in an article about the banning of Alex Haley’s historical novel Roots. “We’re letting our fear destroy the possibility of education for our young people, and that’s wrong,” she said. Read more.
