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’s announced its line-up of fall 2025 Authors’ Evenings featuring E. Jean Carroll, who will discuss her riveting memoir, acclaimed novelists Susan Choi and Sigrid Nunez, debut novelist Sam Sussman, whose book expands on his viral essay ‘The Silent Type: On (possibly) being Bob Dylan’s son’, Todd S. Purdum, whose book examines the life of Desi Arnaz, as well as evenings with Human Rights Watch founder Aryeh Neier, NYU Professor Michael Posner, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence Dr. Marc Brackett, and cultural critic Thomas Chatterton Williams. Learn more.
- PEN America and PEN International jointly submitted documents highlighting violations of the rights to education, free expression, and non-discrimination to the UN ahead of its review session. “We need to recognize what is at stake, for our students and our democracy, when higher education comes under attack in the United States,” said Amy Reid, PEN America’s Freedom to Learn interim program director. Read the press release here.
- PEN America condemned the Trump administration’s unprecedented withdrawal from participation in the upcoming United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United States scheduled for November 2025. “This withdrawal also signals that the United States is not open to examination of its own conduct,” said Hadar Harris, managing director of PEN America’s Washington D.C. office. “We strongly urge the U.S. to remain actively engaged and be a constructive force for freedom of expression and all other human rights at home and abroad.” Read the full statement here.
- Some art history books have been pulled from shelves in an effort to remove “sexually explicit materials,” because of nude statues. “This censorial trend reflects both poorly written laws and overcompliant school districts,” said Kasey Meehan, director of PEN America’s Freedom to Read program. “It’s difficult to study art history without a bit of nudity.” Read the story here.
- PEN America also noted how schools are banning vital American topics like dissent, protests, and social movements, by banning books about them. Read the full story here.
- PEN America’s Amy Reid, Malka Margolies, and Clare Carter wrote about how new rules outlining how faculty should teach “controversial topics” in Iowa universities are creating a chill. Read more here.
- PEN America, along with the Florida Freedom to Read Project, Families for Strong Public Schools, and Authors Against Book Bans, held a press conference in the state to push back against state-led censorship. Read more from on the ground here.
- PEN America caught up with film director Joe Hill about his recent documentary, Match in a Haystack, which follows an all-women dance troupe in Kyiv, explores the necessity of art during war. PEN America co-hosted a screening of the film in Washington. Read the full rundown here.
- To round off Women in Translation Month, PEN America spoke to one half of the International Booker winning duo, Deepa Bhasthi, who translated Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq from Kannada. Read the full interview here.
- PEN America’s Daniel Shank Cruz, Special Assistant for U.S. Free Expression Programs, presented on a panel at AnimeCon held by the Japan Society and discussed how book bans are affecting readers, writers, and illustrators in the Manga community. Read coverage in the Anime News Network here.
- PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms Managing Director for U.S. Free Expression programs was quoted in a story about the chill museums nationwide are experiencing under the Trump administration’s policies in the Star Telegram. Read the piece here.
- PEN America’s Amy Reid, Freedom to Learn interim program director, was quoted in Masslive about how DEI-related bans are affecting classroom teaching. Read the full story here.
- PEN America helped fact check the claim that Anne Frank’s Diary was banned in all Florida schools for Yahoo News. Learn more here.
