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2014 PEN/Bellwether Prize Finalists
PEN American Center is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2014 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. The award, which was established in 2000 by Barbara Kingsolver and is… More
Knife’s Edge: Free Expression in Myanmar
Four years after the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, what has changed in Myanmar? More
Recommended Reading: Diversity in Literature
Open Book judges Catherine Chung, Randa Jarrar, and Monica Youn selected titles that offer fresh glimpses into diverse cultures and introduce some startling new voices, writing both from within… More
Thai Junta Targets Writers and Scholars
PEN American Center calls upon the Thai military to immediately rescind its order for individual writers and scholars to turn themselves in, and to end all restrictions on freedom… More
Why One Story and Not Another?
The word “idea” catapults us instantly into philosophy. What does it mean to have an idea? What is an idea? For Plato ideal forms were more real than our… More
House Passes Weakened Version of USA FREEDOM Act
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a significantly weakened version of the USA FREEDOM Act, an NSA surveillance reform proposal. More
Recommended Reading: Art of the Essay
PEN judges Geoff Dyer, Stanley Fish, Ariel Levy, and Cheryl Strayed chose these eight titles for the 2014 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay long list. Smart,… More
PEN Nicaragua Protests the Mistreatment of Journalists
PEN Nicaragua protests the use of force by several officers of the state police in an incident in which two young Nicaraguan journalists were abused as they covered a… More
Anna Politkovskaya Murder Convictions a Small Step Towards Justice
The conviction of five men for the murder of the renowned Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya is a welcome development, but PEN remains deeply concerned that those who ordered the… More
Freedom of Expression Under Threat in Thailand as Army Imposes Restrictions on Media
PEN International calls on the Thai army to allow journalists and other writers to continue their essential work documenting and commenting on the emerging situation as martial law is… More