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PEN America: USC Decision to Cancel Valedictorian’s Graduation Speech Amounts to “Heckler’s Veto”
PEN America’s Kristen Shahverdian, program director for Campus Free Speech, said: “This amounts to a heckler’s veto – this student should have been given the opportunity to give the… More
New Report Find Unprecedented Surge in School Books Bans
“Students are at the epicenter of the book banning movement, and they’re fearlessly spearheading the fight against this insidious encroachment into what they can read and learn across the… More
Banned in the USA: Narrating the Crisis
This report utilizes snapshots to illustrate the hateful rhetoric driving book bans and personal damage that this movement has done to students and communities alike. More
The Wrong Way to Fight Campus Antisemitism
PEN America is gravely concerned that lawmakers are putting forth ill-considered proposals regarding antisemitism that would restrict the protected speech of students and faculty. More
Letter from Salman Rushdie and Past PEN America Presidents: ‘Keep Faith in the Community That We Have Built Together’
After PEN America announced its plans for its upcoming PEN America Literary Awards and the 2024 PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, nine former PEN America presidents came… More
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of April 8
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. More
Tony Kushner to Receive PEN/Mike Nichols Writing for Performance Award at April 29 Literary Awards
Tony Kushner said, “It’s intimidating enough that this honor is named after Mike Nichols, no one ever understood better than him the ways words can be made to perform.… More
A Mississippi Teacher was Terminated for Reading a Book. Time to Reverse that Decision.
There is a swelling movement to assert an ideology over public schools that restricts students’ ability to learn, read, and grow. More
Pham Doan Trang, Imprisoned Vietnamese Writer and Dissident, To Receive PEN America’s Freedom to Write Award at NYC Gala May 16
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “Pham Doan Trang has galvanized the Vietnamese people through her writings on democracy, human rights, environmental degradation, and women’s empowerment. The Vietnamese government… More
PEN World Voices Festival Marks Its 20th Year
PEN America will convene an array of vital voices in literature from around the globe in the 20th anniversary PEN World Voices Festival, held May 8-11 in New York… More
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