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The PEN Ten: An Interview with Leone Ross
“Fiction gives me an opportunity to express emotional truth by creating composite characters—bits of myself, inspired by other people. . . and hoping readers relate deeply.” More
PEN America Releases Third Annual Prison Writing Anthology
PEN America today announced the release of its third annual PEN America Prison Writing Awards Anthology, this year entitled Breathe into the Ground. More
Open Letter: Authors Demand Texas School District Reinstate Their Books
Authors join together demanding that a Texas school district reverse its decision to ban their books. More
PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remain World’s Top Jailers of Writers
In PEN America’s annual census of detained writers worldwide, The Freedom to Write Index, the literary and free expression group found that in 2020, at least 273 writers, academics,… More
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel to Join Oversight Board
The literary and free expression group PEN America announced today that its CEO Suzanne Nossel—a free expression expert, human rights leader, author, and lawyer—will join the Oversight Board. More
Seven Ways Myanmar’s Military is Cracking Down on Free Expression in the Wake of the Coup
As the United Nations warns that Myanmar could descend into “full blown conflict,” the risks to writers, demonstrators, journalists, human rights activists, and artists couldn’t be more dire. More
Detained Belarusian PEN Center Member Must Be Released
PEN America today called for the immediate release of Belarusian PEN Center member Aliaksandr Fiaduta, a political scientist, literary critic, and former aid to Belarus’ authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko. More
Trial of Russian Artist Charged With “Disseminating Pornography” Begins
A Russian feminist artist and LGBTQIA+ activist is being tried this week on charges of disseminating pornography for her artwork that depicts nude bodies. More
PEN America Alarmed by Raid on Russian Student Publication
PEN America is deeply worried by reports of a raid on the offices of Doxa, a student-run journal based in Moscow, and on the residences of its staff that… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kayleb Rae Candrilli
“I am a small part of the tradition being remade and reclaimed by historically marginalized folks. Our bodies are breaking rules by existing, so why wouldn’t our art?” More