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Plan to Digitize Mail at NYC’s Rikers Island Prison Would Affect Books, Too
By Moira Marquis Being poor and unable to afford bail in New York can be a death sentence. The vast majority of people who died on Rikers Island prison in… More
PEN America Calls on Algeria to Release Journalist Mustapha Bendjema from Detention
“By arresting journalists and shuttering human rights organizations and independent media outlets, the Algerian government is signaling that it is doubling down on repression instead of allowing the Algerian… More
Florida Book Bans: Why Are There Empty Shelves in Florida Schools?
You may have seen pictures of empty bookshelves in Florida classrooms, or heard about book bans across the state. What’s happening now is that new laws passed last year in… More
A Celebration of Salman Rushdie and His New Novel Victory City for Readers on Both Sides of the Atlantic
By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)—PEN America, PEN Canada and English PEN hosted two global literary stars, Canadian Margaret Atwood and British-born Neil Gaiman, on Thursday evening for an online conversation… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Lamya H
Finding queer Muslim community taught me it was possible to live. More
PEN America: Bill Passed by NC House Would Chill Right to Protest at a Critical Moment for Democracy
“HB 40 will harm core First Amendment rights and will create the risk that the government could use the law to restrict or deter speech it dislikes,” said Kate… More
Kal Penn to Host 60th Annual PEN America Literary Awards—“the Oscars for Books”— March 2 at New York’s Town Hall
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for Literary Programming at PEN America, said, “Kal Penn epitomizes PEN America’s belief in the capacity of writers and artists to instigate social… More
Scholar-Author Imani Perry on Listening Deeply, Turning 50, Writing About Historical Atrocities and Being a Mother
Prize-Winning Author of South to America is featured speaker in finale of Birmingham Reads, PEN Birmingham’s collective reading experience of her book. More
PEN America Calls on Cooper Union to Reopen an Exhibit on the Legacy of Vkhutemas, a Design School Shuttered by Joseph Stalin
Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager of free expression and education, released the following comments: “Cooper Union’s decision to halt the opening of Vkhutemas: Laboratory of the Avant-Garde, 1920–1930 raises serious questions… More
Suspension of Virtual Library App by CA’s Orange Unified School District Is An Overreaction and Sets a Worrisome Precedent
Allison Lee, managing director of PEN America’s Los Angeles office, released the following comments: “The decision to immediately remove access to thousands of books for students due to a few… More