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.
- PEN America released a new report, “The Normalization of Book Banning,” which found that public school book bans have become disturbingly rampant and common. The report tracks 6,870 instances of book bans across 23 states and 87 public school districts during the 2024-2025 school year. It also identifies alarming trends in censorship, including the emergence of federal efforts to restrict education, the introduction of state-mandated “no read” lists, and the continuation of attacks on LGBTQ+ literature, specifically by labeling it “sexually explicit.” Read the full report here, and check out coverage of it here, here, here, and here.
- PEN America celebrated Judge William G. Young’s ruling in AAUP v. Rubio, which held that non-citizens lawfully present in the United States have the same First Amendment rights to freedom of speech as American citizens. Young’s opinion stated that the federal government violated the First Amendment by targeting international students and faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy. “This is a victory for free speech for all, and a reminder of our responsibility to protect that right,” saidElly Brinkley, staff attorney. Read more here.
- PEN America strongly condemned ICE agents’ violent assault of journalists in New York City. “This latest incident is part of an alarming trend of attacks on press freedom by the administration, putting journalists’ safety and the public’s right to information at serious risk,” said Tim Richardson, program director for Journalism and Disinformation. Read the full statement here.
- PEN America welcomed the introduction of the federal Stop Censoring Military Families Act, which would reinstate all 596 books removed from U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity schools’ classrooms and libraries. The act would also protect school curricula from censorship by the Trump and future administrations. Read more here.
- In collaboration with the Committee to Protect Journalists and Free Press, PEN America wrote a letter on Tuesday to the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanding the immediate release of journalist Mario Guevara, who had been held for more than 100 days for his work. More than 100 leading writers, journalists, and scholars signed onto the letter. Read the letter and more about it here. Guevara was subsequently deported and PEN America issued the following statement deploring his treatment and noting it signaled the growing threats to press freedom.
- Ian Schwab, director of government affairs, commended the public for fighting for the free speech rights of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel but said we need to do the same for more vulnerable individuals. Read the blog post here.
- Missed us at the Brooklyn Book Festival? Check out coverage of the event here.
