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 filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of military families challenging book bans and curricular restrictions in their schools. “While the government can make curriculum and library decisions based on reasonable pedagogical interests, DoDEA here has gone far beyond its power by acting with an improper motivation — censorship of disfavored views in our schools,” said Mara Gassmann, legal director. Read more.
- In a new Snapshot of Censorship, Dr. Abraham Goldberg, the former director of James Madison University’s Center for Civic Engagement, describes the impact of eliminating a program that encouraged civil conversations on campus. “If political discussions aren’t welcome on a college campus, where are they welcome?” he asks. Read the full snapshot.
- PEN America shared a letter by Golrokh Iraee, an imprisoned Iranian writer and 2026 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Awardee. “The pen becomes the cry of shared suffering against oppression, for us who stepped into an unequal struggle,” Iraee writes. Read the full letter.
- This Pride Month, learn what authors Katherine Locke, Sarah Brannen, and Kyle Lukoff have to say about the value of picture books that depict LGBTQ+ characters and themes, as well as the dangerous message that censoring these stories sends to young people. Here’s the Instagram post.
- If you missed the 2026 World Voices Festival, check out recaps of panels about masculinity, queerness, and identity as well as the degradation of the digital world.
- PEN America condemned the Pentagon’s decision to convert its press office into classified space and bar journalists from entering. “In banning the press from the press office, of all places, the Defense Department has once again chosen secrecy over transparency and accountability,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation program director. See the statement.
- An AP story dives into the many reasons why Ann Patchett won the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award and the benevolence foregrounded in her new book, Whistler. Read the article.
- Plus, Patchett talked about the award on Late Night with Seth Meyers. “I was a little nervous to talk about writing in front of all of those writers, so I thought I would just dig into natural history,” she said. See the video here.
- The Guardian spoke to Kristen Shahverdian, director of campus free speech, about what’s at risk when universities cancel graduation speakers. “It sends a really troubling message to everyone, really — certainly to the students, who should not expect that a graduation speaker will only say nice platitudes,” she said. Watch the video here.
- In an Inside Higher Ed article, Amy Reid, program director for Freedom to Learn, expressed concern about a Florida bill that would expand the authority of the state’s higher education governing boards to alter curricula. “Students are best served when faculty are able to make curricular decisions based on their expertise and classroom experience — not when politicians bend education to their ideological will,” she said. Read the story.
- The New Arab quoted Asma Laouira, senior manager for the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, calling Egypt’s sentencing of poet Ahmed Douma to prison with labour “disgraceful.” Read the article.
