Blog
Filter By:
Advocacy • Analysis • Blog • Commentary • Drama • Essay • Event • Feature • Fiction • Graphic Narrative • Interview • Memoir • News • Obituary • Open Letter • Poetry • Press Release • Profile
Browse By Series:
PEN Poetry Series • Prison Writing • The PEN Ten Interviews • Illustrated PEN • Pen Pals • The PEN World
Browse By Email Subscription:
PEN America News • Educational Censorship News • Works of Justice
PEN America: Sweeping Ban on Drag Performances in Montana In Effect Criminalizes a Wide Range of Artistic Choices
Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America’s Free Expression and Education Programs, said: “In their effort to censor drag and LGBTQ+ expression, Montana legislators have enacted a law that is… More
More Than Meets the DEI
Bills that purport to ban DEI initiatives on college campuses are currently in vogue in state legislatures. Their proponents describe them as straightforward “DEI bans.” More
Statement Signed by 57 PEN Centers Worldwide Calls for Release of Chinese Writer and Journalist Dong Yuyu
“We believe that Dong Yuyu is being unjustly detained in reprisal for his writing and interacting with foreign nationals to help inform his global views, in violation of his… More
Florida School District Pulls Amanda Gorman’s Widely-Praised “The Hill We Climb” from Library
“The Hill We Climb was widely praised after Amanda Gorman read it at President Biden’s inauguration. Today, access to the book has been limited for elementary students at a… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Jane Wong
I think often of my familial ancestors and what trickled into me – were they poets too? More
PEN American Mourns the Passing of Author Martin Amis, a Devoted Member and Supporter
Nested in a community of fellow luminaries who were his peers and longtime friends, he helped animate the best of writerly New York and its atmosphere of candor, debate… More
PEN America Applauds Supreme Court Rulings to Protect Free Expression Online
Liz Woolery, PEN America’s digital policy lead, said: “The Supreme Court got it right today, issuing twin decisions that protect the right to free expression on the internet. As… More
PEN America Honors Salman Rushdie with Centenary Courage Award at Literary Gala; Author’s First Public Appearance Since Being Wounded in Knife Attack Nine Months Ago
It was an emotional return to the stage for Salman Rushdie, who for decades has been a tireless defender of persecuted writers and the freedom to write while himself… More
PEN America Responds to Defunding of Kinsey Institute as Another “Alarming Step” in Effort to Exert Political Control over Higher Education
Jeremy C. Young, Freedom to Learn program director, said: “This decision should alarm anyone who cares about the integrity of higher education. It is horrifying that the Indiana legislature… More
PEN America and PEN International Denounce Book Removals From Hong Kong’s Public Libraries
“We have been following with alarm the ongoing removal of books from Hong Kong’s public library system. The right to access literature with a diversity of thought and opinion… More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
