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Groundbreaking Essay Anthology on Writing Behind Bars Published
Today marks the publication of The Sentences that Create Us: Crafting a Writer’s Life in Prison (Haymarket Books), gathering stories and writing guidance from some of today’s most exciting… More
PEN America Mourns “Utterly Preventable Death” of Baktash Abtin
(New York, NY) — Imprisoned Iranian poet, filmmaker, and recipient of the 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award Baktash Abtin died in a Tehran hospital, succumbing to COVID-19. “Our worst… More
Iran Must Release those Unjustly Detained and Not Deny Medical Care to Prisoners, Says Coalition of Organizations led by PEN America
Today PEN America and eighteen other prominent human rights organizations sent a letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of… More
PEN America Calls for Release of Writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija
On December 28, 2021, award-winning writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija was detained by Ugandan security forces and taken into unlawful detention without charges or explanation. More
Open Letter to Supreme Leader of Iran on Baktash Abtin
PEN America and its allies call on the Supreme Leader of Iran to urgently release filmmaker and poet Baktash Abtin and all unjustly detained for their writing or expression. More
PEN America Calls for Release of Ukrainian Theater Director Yevhen Lavrenchuk
PEN America called for the immediate release of Ukrainian theater director Yevhen Lavrenchuk, who has been detained in Italy since December 17 following an extradition request to Interpol from… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Jean Chen Ho
“I made a lot of awful, sad things happen to these characters [in Fiona and Jane]. . . and still, they manage to survive and even find joy, together.” More
PEN Pals: Eliot Schrefer and Padma Venkatraman on When Others Take Up the Torch
“I knew I couldn’t contribute to the cultural life of an institution that actively discriminates against its students—that didn’t want people like me to exist.” More
PEN America Condemns Internet Shutdown in Kazakhstan
“This blackout is a blatant attack on freedom of expression by the government of Kazakhstan,'' said Polina Sadovskaya, PEN America’s Eurasia director. More
PEN America Demands Release of Baktash Abtin
After contracting COVID-19 in prison for a second time, 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write honoree Baktash Abtin is now in a medically-induced coma. More