We thank the members of our community who have spoken to us about their concerns, and want to be transparent in sharing publicly the information we have shared with them.
PEN America and cultural boycotts
As an organization dedicated to the protection and support of writers, we respect the choices writers make, including the right to participate in a boycott, if they so choose. Indeed, we respect the choices of writers who have chosen to boycott our own organization.
At the same time, as an organization fundamentally dedicated to the power of literature, stories, and ideas to cross borders and boundaries, to foster empathy and understanding, and to serve as counterweights to dehumanization and hate, PEN America upholds a longstanding policy of opposing cultural and academic boycotts or any effort “to inhibit the international exchange of literature, art, information, or knowledge.” This position echoes the founding and fundamental principles of the PEN Charter, which states that “literature knows no frontiers and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheavals.” It also reflects our belief in the power of uninhibited artistic engagement to open minds, influence ideas, and illuminate common ground. Believing in that power of literature to counter division or hate is the essence of the idea that PEN was built on–it’s why we exist, and not something on which we can compromise. This is why we will not join a boycott like the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
We assiduously defend the rights of writers and academics who engage in or advocate for or against cultural and academic boycotts to be protected from retaliatory efforts to silence their voices or otherwise punish them for their choices and views. We see no contradiction between opposing boycotts ourselves, and defending the right of others to engage in them.
We stand with Jewish, Israeli, Muslim and Palestinian writers, artists and journalists, bookstore owners and literary figures, whose events have been canceled and have been the targets of harassment and McCarthy-esque lists simply because of their religious or national identity.
Calls for PEN America to use the word genocide
We recognize that there are many in our community who would like PEN America to take a position on whether Israel has committed genocide. However, we believe the role that is most consistent with our mission is to ensure that writers are free to use the word genocide–or to contest it. We will defend the right of writers to speak their conscience without fear.
PEN America Literary Awards submissions
The process and guidelines for submitting books to be considered for the 2025 PEN America’s Literary Awards and Grants cycle remained the same as in years past. Given that some authors who were boycotting PEN America had submitted for our Grants and Awards, PEN America asked all publishers to confirm their author submissions out of respect for the authors so all were aware and in agreement with their work being submitted to the PEN America Literary Awards and Grants program. There was no encouragement to withdraw. There was no deadline or new vetting requirement added to the submission and judging process. At all times we operate out of respect for writers. Those who withdrew from our awards longlists and final lists in the 2024 Award cycle were given the option to still be listed noting their withdrawal, so their work could still receive the recognition it deserved.
PEN America’s work on college campuses
PEN America has spoken out frequently to defend the civil liberties of student protesters, and to criticize the cancellation of speakers and events.
We have issued numerous statements on the impact of the war on campus free speech. Many have dealt with the suppression of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian speech, including statements opposing the use of force to disperse student protests on college campuses, rejecting institutional efforts to punish speakers and professors, calling out facially neutral policies adopted in response to pro-Palestine speech and encampments, opposing U.S. government efforts to curtail speech critical of Israel, and criticizing the cancellations of appearances, exhibitions and films by Palestinian and pro-Palestinian writers, scholars, and artists. Most recently, we have condemned the federal detention of Palestinian student activist Mahmoud Khalil for his exercise of free expression and called for his immediate release.
PEN America has also consistently spoken about the imperative for campuses to stand against hate, including antisemitism, anti-Arab, and anti-Muslim hate, as bigotry is antithetical to a healthy learning environment. We have decried rising antisemitism on campus while opposing political measures that would increase fear and mistrust. We have opposed the cancellation of events with Jewish and Israeli writers, scholars, and artists.
Organizational financial transparency
In keeping with best practices among nonprofit organizations, we provide full transparency about our financials. Our annual audited financial statements and Form 990s can be found on our website.
PEN America’s response to the Ukraine war
We have heard criticisms that PEN America did not respond to the war in Gaza in as robust or timely a way as we did when the war in Ukraine broke out. PEN America had an established Eurasia program and a longstanding, deep relationship with PEN Ukraine years before the full Russian invasion in 2022. That existing expertise and partnership meant we were particularly well positioned for an immediate response to the war in Ukraine. PEN Ukraine was itself a robust organization, which immediately sprang into a range of advocacy, emergency support, and programmatic actions in response to the war, which we were able to amplify from the beginning. Their work to document the impact of the war on writers and culture was the basis of a joint report on cultural destruction in Ukraine that we published together within a year of the invasion.
