News & Analysis
The latest news and analysis from PEN America’s research and advocacy.
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Press Releases • Commentary
The Most Banned Picture Books of the 2021-2022 School Year
These are the most banned picture books of the 2021-2022 school year. Several are nonfiction, including histories of civil rights and gay pride. Others are lighthearted fiction about animals… More
PEN America Condemns Prison Summons Issued to Reza Khandan, Husband to Prominent Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
(NEW YORK)—In response to the news that Reza Khandan--the husband of prominent human rights lawyer, writer, and PEN America 2011 Freedom to Write honoree Nasrin Sotoudeh--has been summoned to prison… More
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
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
PEN America supports challenge to DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ law
PEN America filed an Amicus brief in Honeyfund v. DeSantis, saying the law had a “profound chilling effect,” not only on employers like Honeyfund, but on educators across the… More