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UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Urged to Raise Imprisonment of Writers Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, Being Held in Teheran on Wrongful Convictions
“Arash Ganji and Reza Khandan Mahabadi are in prison for their unequivocal commitment to writing and expression in Iran,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write… More
PEN America and International Publishers Association Joint Statement: Myanmar’s Closing of Third Publishing House Appears to Represent a New Onslaught Against Literary and Creative Content
“Closing these publishing houses is a gross misuse of the judicial system and outdated, restrictive laws to prosecute individuals and businesses for producing or disseminating written content,” said Karin… More
Reported Decision by Morocco to Withdraw Lesbian Diaries Title from International Book Fair Violates Free Speech and Artistic Expression
“Withdrawing Lesbian Diaries violates Fatima Zahra Amzkar’s rights to free speech and artistic expression while also undermining the rights of LGBTQ+ communities to equality and dignity. The International Book… More
Banning of Non-English Dictionaries in Michigan Prisons Tramples on Fundamental Rights
"To punish a broad segment of the prison population is short-sighted, in addition to trampling on prisoners’ fundamental rights.” More
Protest Over Books by Amazon Workers Was “Counterproductive” By Silencing Celebrants at a Pride Month Event
“Workers at Amazon have a right to protest the sale of books they find objectionable. But doing so at a company event celebrating the start of Pride Month through… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Ada Limón
"I want to be as free as anyone to write what they want to write and to be human in all those beautiful, necessary, and urgent ways." More
Filmed Production of Mahogany L. Browne’s New Choreopoem Quilted Steel—Telling the Stories of Formerly Incarcerated Black Women—Premiers June 13 at Lincoln Center Atrium
Caits Meissner, director of PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program, who produced the project, said: “This collaboration is a call to bear unflinching witness. The project demands that… More
PEN America and the Literary Action Coalition Sponsor June 18 Public Safety Forum and Training in NYC
(NEW YORK)-- On June 18 from noon-4 p.m. the NYC Literary Action Coalition in partnership with PEN America will sponsor a community event focused on public safety that will… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Grzegorz Kwiatkowski
"I think that the moral scandal of crimes and tragedies is visible especially when we see not only victims but also perpetrators and observers." More
PEN America Prison Writing Award Winners: 2021
Perhaps now, more than ever, the work of this contest is needed: to help melt calcified perceptions of who is incarcerated, to uplift the incredible literary voices stifled by… More