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.
- In a public comment, PEN America warned the Federal Communications Commission against targeting The View over protected speech. “The FCC’s role is not to act as an arbiter of journalism or acceptable commentary,” wrote Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director. “The commission must reaffirm its longstanding precedent and make clear that it will not intimidate or chill protected speech.” Read the full comment.
- PEN America spoke to Dr. Marvin Dunn, founder of the Miami Center for Racial Justice, about how he’s keeping Florida’s Black history alive in the face of fierce educational censorship. “It worries me that if we don’t understand each other’s pain, then we’ll never get over the bad things that happened in history,” Dunn told us. “We need to know other people’s stories so that we can appreciate their history, their pain, and they can do the same for us.” Read the full blog post.
- Advocates are working to advance restrictions on how rap lyrics can be used as evidence in courtrooms. In conversation with Jonanthan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director for U.S. Free Expression Programs, Erik Nielson, a professor at the University of Richmond, explains how the criminal justice system weaponizes creative expression against young men of color. Check out the interview.
- How do we honor our ancestors after death? At the 2026 World Voices Festival panel “¡Viva Las Antepasadas!/Long Live The Ancestors!,” three writers gathered to discuss the importance of female voices in Latin America and how we can protect their legacy. Catch up on the event in English and Spanish.
- In dialogue with a former Mexican journalist, translator and bookseller, Yuliana Tamayo Latorre, program assistant for Freedom to Read, discussed the escalation of book bans across the United States. Listen to the conversation in Spanish.
- On Hello Houston, a Texas public radio program, Friedman explained why PEN America is urging the Senate to vote against H.R. 2616, a bill intended to censor speech and instruction in schools related to gender and LGBTQ+ identities. Listen here.
- WCGU cited PEN America’s criticism of a “domestic terror” law that will take effect in Florida on July 1. “The guidelines, sparse as they are, could invite abuse to shut down dissent and target those critical of the state government,” the statement read. Learn more.
- BookRiot quoted Friedman in an article about the University of Nebraska’s move to censor a standard human sexuality textbook. “College students are mature enough to understand the difference between educational material and pornography… [and] censoring the use of certain textbooks and images will leave students ill prepared for real-life scenarios they will face in careers in medicine or healthcare,” he said. Read the story.
