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The Florida Effect: How the Sunshine State is Driving the Conservative Agenda on Free Expression
Florida’s legislative proposals have been picked up and replicated around the nation, providing a blueprint for how to suppress Americans’ speech. More
The California Effect: How the Golden State is Driving the Progressive Agenda on Free Expression
California’s free expression policies set new legislative agendas where states may not have laws on the books. More
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of November 20
PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out. More
Morgan Talty recommends what you should read for Native American Heritage Month
Morgan Talty, the winner of the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize on his debut short story collection, Night of the Living Rez has curated an illustrious reading list for Native… More
PEN America Joins with Other Groups in Condemning Cancellation of Play at Santa Monica College
PEN America is joined by the Dramatists Guild, the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund, and the National Coalition Against Censorship in condemning the cancelation of a play at Santa Monica… More
PEN America Endorses Appeal for New UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy
The statement, led by Democracy without Borders, warned on Monday that “democracy is threatened and authoritarianism is on the rise.” It stresses the urgency for the UN to actively… More
PEN America Welcomes Release of Iranian Dissident Rapper Toomaj Salehi
Salehi was arrested in October 2022 for his music in support of Iran's “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests following the custodial death of Mahsa Amini. More
The Topics Teachers Are Too Afraid to Teach
Frederick Douglass, women’s suffrage, jazz and the blues, Batman, reproductive biology, philosophy. In states with restrictive educational policies, teachers and professors have questioned if they are allowed to teach… More
PEN America Files Amicus Brief in Case Against Texas Law Requiring Ratings for Sexual Content on Books Sold to Public Schools
(NEW YORK)—PEN America has filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit in the case of Book People v. Wong, challenging Texas’s HB 900, which requires booksellers to “rate”… More
Guatemalan Artists Among Those Targeted During Political Turmoil
ARC calls for the liberation of all artists, writers, activists, and others arrested for publicly opposing attempts to invalidate August’s presidential election results. More