PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out.
- The 2026 World Voices Festival is in full swing! Author Yiyun Li, one of TIME’s most influential people of 2026, thinks you should attend. Read why, and heed her advice by grabbing tickets for events through Saturday.
- PEN America launched a character-naming auction, which gives readers the chance to have their name or a loved one’s name featured in an upcoming work by authors including David Baldacci, Lee Child, Jodi Picoult, and Jennifer Egan. Proceeds will go to the organization’s U.S. author safety program. Read the coverage in Kirkus Review and bid now to see your name in print.
- PEN America announced that the Rutherford County Library Alliance, a local coalition of advocates in Tennessee, will receive the PEN/Benenson Courage Award at the 2026 PEN America Literary Gala. The all‑volunteer alliance has galvanized its community against book bans since 2023 and led opposition to a recent library board order to remove more than 100 children’s books deemed “inappropriate.” Read more, and check out the coverage in the AP.
- PEN America condemned the execution of James Broadnax, who was sentenced to death after Texas prosecutors deemed his lyrics evidence of his “future dangerousness.” “Broadnax’s case lays bare the stakes of using rap as evidence in criminal trials,” said Elly Brinkley, staff attorney. “When creative expression is used as evidence of criminality, it denies people like James Broadnax their humanity.” Read more.
- PEN America criticized the FCC for ordering an early license review for ABC just one day after President Donald Trump called for the firing of ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel for a joke he made about first lady Melania Trump. “If comedians can’t make jokes about the President without fear of blatant government retaliation, then what’s the First Amendment for? This is free speech 101,” said Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director of U.S. Free Expression Programs. Read the full statement, and check out commentary in Poynter Online that quotes the statement.
- Last year, Izidora Angel won the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. Now, her translation is shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. “What PEN does with the grant cannot be overstated,” she told us. Check out the full interview.
- Ukrainian women, including journalists and writers, have played an essential role in ensuring a public record of the war is created and preserved. Hear some of their stories.
- McKenna Samson, program manager for Freedom to Read, spoke to Moms Rising about why access to books matters. Give the episode a listen.
- An Inside Higher Education article about state laws impacting higher education quotes Laura Benitez, state policy senior manager for U.S. Free Expression Programs. Read the piece.
