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PEN America Condemns State-Sponsored Execution of Ukrainian Orchestra Conductor for Reportedly Refusing Concert in Russian-Occupied City of Kherson
Ukrainian and international artists and writers were swift in their condemnation of Kerpatenko’s murder: “The history of Russia imposing a ‘comply or die’ policy against artists is nothing new.… More
Today’s Book Bans Echo a Panic Against Comic Books in the 1950s
History shows that when Americans grow panicked about the impact of reading material on children, they often don’t scrutinize specific claims against materials. More
An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner: Oyedotun Damilola Muees
The people in my story only had themselves to make their community better, just like the people where I served. More
An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner: Erin Connal
I wanted to explore the slippery space that misbehaving as a group allows us. The story is about a group who does something terrible but the individuals in the… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Fatimah Asghar
It’s important for us to keep making stories that actually have nuanced portrayals of the communities that we come from, and also break the burden of needing our voices… More
PEN America Condemns Transfer of Vietnamese Writer Pham Doan Trang to Remote Prison
“From Pham Doan Trang’s lengthy incommunicado detention to the wholly disproportionate and unjustified sentence of nine years in prison handed down in her case last year, it comes as… More
Cancellation of Down In Mississippi Play on Texas Campus Is An Affront to Artistic Freedom
Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs, said: "The decision to cancel this production because of some students' objections is an alarming affront to artistic freedom. While students'… More
NEW PEN America Report: Digital Censorship and Threats to Creative Expression Rise Against Artists in Asia
“In the last two years, we have witnessed a steady rise in threats and persecution of artists across Asia, a trend where governments are deliberately targeting and silencing cultural… More
An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner: Edward Salem
Translating can make a story overly accessible in a way that’s patronizing. I’d rather have the reader experience the unfamiliarity of being in a foreign place. More
An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner: Cal Shook
something I hope readers might hold onto is the current of agency that runs through this story, even if the woman at its center seems often adrift. More