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Hunt to Identify Books with “Sexual Content” Empties Some Library Shelves in FL County as Schools Open
"Empty library shelves serve as a stark symbol of the dangers of government overreach: until now, library purges have been the province of communist dictatorships and authoritarian dystopias. Now… More
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of August 7
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
A Year After Assault on Salman Rushdie, PEN America is Heartened by His “Full Force” Return as a Free Expression Champion
A week after the unthinkable assault at a bucolic intellectual retreat center in upstate New York, we were heartened by the outpouring of support for Salman when PEN America… More
Ben Purkert | The PEN Ten Interview
I followed Seth on his downward spiral and simply tried to keep up with my pen. And no, I didn't worry that my novel was too dark. I only… More
Ending Gender Studies at Florida’s New College Is a “Repressive Act,” Echoing Hungary’s Viktor Orban
Jeremy C. Young, Freedom to Learn program director at PEN America, said: “The New College board’s abolition of gender studies is a repressive act that echoes the actions of… More
PEN America: ‘Distressing’ That Indiana Library Is Moving Teen Books to the Adult Section
PEN America expressed distress over the decision by Indiana’s Hamilton East Public Library to move more than 1,300 Young Adult books to its adult section under a new policy… More
Withholding Funds for Palestinian Students is Effort to Entrench a “Separate and Unequal” System Depriving Palestinians of Rights
The Israeli government’s proposed laws concerning Palestinian access to education come amid a broader right-wing legislative push, which has resulted in unprecedented protests throughout Israel this year. This push… More
Scholars in California Should be Allowed to Testify in Covid Learning Loss Case, Says PEN America
PEN America’s Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager of free expression and education, said: “What the state of California is doing to these researchers is censorship. When the state interferes with… More
Growing Repression and Persecution of Writers and Artists in Belarus, Ahead of Third Anniversary of Illegitimate Presidential Election
“Belarusians are enduring profound restrictions of their fundamental rights and their cultural heritage is under serious threat and the world is not doing enough to preserve it. If we… More
In Defense of Literary Imagination
We believe that it is possible to move boldly forward for equity in publishing without disavowing individual books and applying new moral litmus tests to stanch ideas deemed offensive. More