In Light of Hunger Strike, PEN America Demands Oleg Sentsov’s Immediate Release
We, the undersigned artists, writers, filmmakers, and activists, join PEN America to call for the immediate and unconditional release of the wrongfully imprisoned Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov. In light… More
DARE: Roaring Protests of Commencements Past Make Way for a More Subdued Stand
Multiple accounts emerge of colleges and universities choosing commencement speakers based on hopes that their appearance and speeches will provoke fewer, or more subdued, protests. Comedian Samantha Bee apologizes… More
DARE: Roseanne Barr’s Right to Offend and Our Right to Say No
Conservatives, liberals, and free expression experts parse the Roseanne Barr firing. Apparent killing of Russian journalist in Ukraine was a hoax staged by security services in an apparent effort… More
Cruise Control
It was all crash and burn. Very gestapo. Very doomsday guru. It was more a moving than a shaking. Life a wispy thing at times amplified by good hair… More
The PEN Ten with Cinelle Barnes
We all already know that it is important to use literary techniques in creative nonfiction for the sole purpose of delivering facts, but I think as a collective, we… More
DARE: Scholars Have Data on Millions of Facebook Users. Who’s Guarding It?
Possession of Facebook users' data by researchers and academic institutions sets off security and privacy concerns. Chilling account of Twitter mob targeting journalists critical of engineer and investor Elon… More
The M Word Stories: Nadia Eldemerdash
Today, we share Nadia Eldemerdash’s story on being a Muslim American. The piece is Eldemerdash’s response to The M Word’s questionnaire. More
DARE: Man in Custody after Swastikas Found Painted on Gravestones
Arrest made after Illinois cemetery is defaced with swastikas. Gay valedictorian at a Catholic high school gives his speech via bullhorn after the school rejects it. Starbucks bias training… More
Turkey: Charges Against Filmmakers Çayan Demirel and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu an Affront to Free Expression
Turkey must uphold its domestic and international commitments to protect freedom of expression and ensure that artists are free to create without fear. More
DARE: U.S. News Outlets Block European Readers Over New Privacy Rules
American news outlets block access to their websites from Europe rather than comply with strict new European data privacy laws. Privacy concerns arise over voice-activated "assistants" in the home… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Salman Rushdie shows us that free speech is life itself
Rushdie knows how vital, how serious the business of storytelling is. Yet in my encounters with him he never took himself seriously, writes @EricaWgnr in @NewStatesman #SalmanRushdie #FreedomToWrite https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2022/08/salman-rushdies-books-show-free-speech-life-itself
@PENamerica, K Desai @saliltripathi curate a majestic set of writers on #IndiaAt75. @SalmanRushdie midnight’s child says a writer's work is "stop the world from going to sleep." Here they write to keep India’s tryst with destiny to "awake to light and freedom." - incl Saumya Roy https://twitter.com/saliltripathi/status/1559033410034831360
When you make this many bureaucratic hurdles to kids reading books, and couple it with a climate of suspicion and surveillance, you are going to, ultimately, stop kids from reading books. It that's not the goal... what is? https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1558858550214115328
