News & Analysis
The latest news and analysis from PEN America’s research and advocacy.
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Press Releases • Commentary
Amid Tumultuous Year, PEN America Virtual Gala Celebrates Acts of Courage and Bravery by Those Who Stand Up to Oppression
"I’m heartened to think that this assembly of not always like-minded but always like-hearted writers and thinkers and advocates—that our assembly tonight points to our power.” More
Barack Obama Receives 2020 PEN America Voice of Influence Award, Re-Embraces His Identity as a Writer
“My politics, my public life, and my more interior writing life have never been that far apart," More
Poet’s Arrest Latest in Iran’s Crackdown on Writers
"The Iranian authorities’ detention of Amin Moradi—one of at least five members of the IWA jailed in 2020—demonstrates a pattern of baselessly portraying writers as anti-state actors in order… More
PEN America Blasts Saudi Arabia for Charging Women’s Rights Activist in Terrorism Court
“These recent developments in the case against Loujain Al-Hathloul only make more evident how bogus and blatantly retaliatory the Saudi authorities' case against her is." More
Cuban Artist Bruguera Detained and Held Overnight
"Bruguera’s arrest is just one more iteration of the Cuban government’s efforts to exert a vice-like grip over the cultural sector." More
“James Baldwin Didn’t Have to Go Out and Get Votes.” Obama Reflects on Race, Dialogue, and Disinformation in PEN America Interview
In an interview with PEN America, President Obama reflects on race, dialogue, and disinformation as the country confronts a new political future. More
PEN America Launches New Workshop Series for Emerging Writers
"It has never been more urgent to equip writers outside the publishing establishment to identify their unique course into the work of writing." More
PEN America Condemns Disturbing Wave of Intimidation and Arrests of Cuban Artists
“Cuban authorities' blatant disregard for freedom of expression has triggered one of the most vicious and alarming cycles of brutality faced by artists in the country in recent memory." More
Police Threaten Chinese Women’s Rights Activist
“Threatening someone for speaking out about the people they love is a tactic for extortionists, not for governments that claim to respect the rule of law." More
Iran Orders Women’s Rights Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh Back to Prison
(New York, NY) — PEN America today condemned Iranian authorities for ordering the re-imprisonment of women's rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, winner of the 2011 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award.… More