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
Jenny Holzer Art Installation to Light Up Rockefeller Center Buildings with Prose in Celebration of PEN America’s 100th Birthday, Starting Wed., 9/14
The outdoor installation, titled SPEECH ITSELF, will include quotes from more than 60 authors in a visual tribute to the right to express ourselves freely. Among the authors whose… More
Today’s Book Bans Might Be More Dangerous Than Those From the Past
Bans are targeting books that young Americans want to read, not texts that a teacher tells them they must. More
Concern Raised Over Censorship Threat Against Netflix, Disney from Saudi Arabia, Gulf Neighbors
“These calls are unfortunately no surprise coming from regimes all too accustomed to censoring the stories and ideas their own citizens can access. But their attempt to inflict that… More
Against the Ruins of 9/11 21 Years Ago, Salman Rushdie Appealed to New Yorkers: “Don’t Let Fear Rule Your Life”
His Words Opened an Enduring Path to Cross-Cultural Dialogue By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)—What has changed as a result of the 9/11 attacks? This has been an unceasing point for debate… More
Celebrated Authors Gather Mon., Sept. 12 for “Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future”
MEDIA ADVISORY (NEW YORK) — PEN America presents Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future, an afternoon of urgent public conversation on the issues that drive the world’s leading… More
Missouri Attorney General’s Request for Journalism Professors’ Emails Is a Brazen Attack on Academic Freedom
Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said in response to the news: “Attorney General Schmitt's request for the emails of two… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with James Hannaham
Don’t let a message get in the way of the truth, even when that truth is embarrassing, counterintuitive, or unpopular. More
Arrest of Nevada Government Official in Journalist’s Killing is “Deeply Disturbing”
(NEW YORK)-- In response to the arrest of Clark County (NV) Public Administrator Robert Telles in the stabbing death of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, PEN America… More
Now This Is Man
Joseph Grosso was awarded 2nd Place in Nonfiction Essay in the 2022 Prison Writing Contest. Every year, hundreds of imprisoned people from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and… More
Nineteen Writers Win Coveted Awards in 2022 Prison Writing Contest
Caits Meissner, director of PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing program, said: "This year's submissions underscore the extraordinary resilience, individuality, and indomitable artistry of writers inside prisons. These indispensable… More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
