Focus Issues
Because many challenges to free expression transcend national and regional boundaries, PEN America looks at Focus Issues through a comparative lens to identify trends in free expression violations and strategies to address them in communities around the world. Read below to learn more about the prevailing threats to free expression today.
Distinct local contexts can shape threats to free expression and the resistance that challenge them. Learn more the conditions for free expression in our Focus Regions.
PEN America v. Trump
The suit seeks to stop President Trump from using the machinery of government to retaliate or threaten reprisals against journalists and media outlets for coverage he dislikes. More
Campus Speech
While free speech is alive and well on campus, it is not free from threats, and must be vigilantly guarded if its continued strength is to be assured. More
Fraudulent News
The proliferation of false information and rising distrust in the established news media, due in part to a deliberate campaign of denigration, pose a looming crisis for American democracy… More
Online Harassment
Online hate and harassment pose a growing threat to free expression. PEN America’s Online Harassment Field Manual and trainings equip writers, journalists, and all those active online with tools… More
#LouderTogether: Donald Trump and New Threats to Expression
As a candidate, President Donald Trump ran on a platform that was explicitly hostile to a free press, dismissive of the voices of minority populations, and indifferent to fact-based… More
The M Word: Muslim Americans Take the Mic
Follow us on Facebook! For centuries, Muslim Americans have played a vital role in building America’s varied and inspiring cultural landscape. But throughout history, their voices have often been marginalized… More
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PEN America On 
For lovers of Layli Long Solider and Claudia Rankine, we recommend books by @Danez_Smif, @TianaClarkPoet, @morganapple, and more: https://t.co/ZjuhZpa8Zs
“Clark offers a study into the simultaneous dissolution and unification that comes with inhabiting a body which is both historical and personal.”
Thank you, @PENamerican, for recommending my book for this incredible reading list chock full of my favorite permission-giving poets! https://t.co/NjEnDDAZ57
Dolly Parton announced that her charity @dollyslibrary, which gives free books to children, will be expanding to a fifth country. https://t.co/3Ur8qg1w4o