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New Stop W.O.K.E. Act Fits Disturbing Pattern in Education Culture War
Governor DeSantis’s Stop W.O.K.E. Act, while undoubtedly aggressive, is no aberration. On the contrary, it is increasingly—and disturbingly—business as usual. More
PEN America Celebrates Release of Sanaa Seif
“We are overjoyed and relieved to hear that Sanaa has been released from prison and our thoughts are with her and her family as she begins to recover from… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with the 2021 PEN Prison Writing Award Winners
“Am I a writer imprisoned, or has imprisonment made me a writer? Parallel universes aside, imprisonment. . . does contain all the essential ingredients of a writer’s life.” More
PEN Pals: Stacey Lee and Padma Venkatraman Discuss Books Breaking Stereotypes
“The more books representing our diverse cultures we have on our shelves, the more we can break stereotypes, and the more we can learn about our similarities as humans.” More
Russian Social Media Platform Threatens Free Expression
The acquisition of Russia’s most popular social network by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin puts another nail in the coffin for free expression in the country. More
PEN America Condemns Five-Year Prison Sentence for Egyptian Blogger
"Alaa Abd El Fattah has done nothing more than share information and is being harshly penalized for exercising his right to free expression." More
Chinese Authorities Poised to Put Activists Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi On Trial, PEN America and China Human Rights Defenders Warn
Chinese authorities may use the lull around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to subject prominent human rights defenders to unfair trials while much of the international community is… More
The PEN Pod: Fighting for Artistic Freedom in Myanmar with Karin Deutsch Karlekar and Bart Was Not Here
“It’s really striking to see the degree to which writing is at the heart of what we are debating about. . . . we are seeing just… More
The PEN Pod: On Disinformation Consumers, Trump Texts, and Free Speech Battles Ahead
“It’s really striking to see the degree to which writing is at the heart of what we are debating about. . . . we are seeing just… More
PEN America Condemns Ihar Losik’s Politically Motivated Sentencing
“Ihar Losik is guilty of nothing more than exercising his fundamental right to freedom of expression,” said PEN America’s Eurasia Director Polina Sadovskaya. More