National Organizations Condemn Cancellation of Student Play at Douglas Anderson School of Performing Arts in Duval County, FL
“Indecent is a critically acclaimed and award-winning 2015 play by Paula Vogel that possesses rich educational and artistic merit. It has been produced Off-Broadway, on Broadway, and has been broadcast… More
PEN America Condemns “Alarming Spread” of Violence and Harassment Against Drag Story Hours
"These violent responses to drag performers and members of the LGBTQ+ community strike at the heart of the freedom to gather, read, perform, and share community safely, all bedrocks… More
New Report: Troubling Rise in Restrictions on Artistic Freedom and Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean
“In the last few years, political and social tensions have risen dramatically in Latin America and the Caribbean amid the confluence of grave crises and dramatic changes. Authoritarian governments… More
Florida Adopts Even More Punitive Provisions Against Teachers and Students To Implement New Controversial Education Laws
(NEW YORK)-- A new set of rules passed by the Florida Board of Education to implement controversial laws like the “Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop W.O.K.E” acts are “alarming”… More
New PEN America Report: Deep and Persistent Obstacles in Publishing Houses Impede Greater Diversity in Terms of Authors and Stories Told
“Publishers are the curators of America’s stories,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for PEN America’s Literary Programs. “They are gatekeepers who decide whose stories will be told… More
PEN America Condemns Transfer of Vietnamese Writer Pham Doan Trang to Remote Prison
“From Pham Doan Trang’s lengthy incommunicado detention to the wholly disproportionate and unjustified sentence of nine years in prison handed down in her case last year, it comes as… More
NEW PEN America Report: Digital Censorship and Threats to Creative Expression Rise Against Artists in Asia
“In the last two years, we have witnessed a steady rise in threats and persecution of artists across Asia, a trend where governments are deliberately targeting and silencing cultural… More
PEN America “Appalled” by Conviction of Writer Tsitsi Dangarembga Linked to Peaceful Protest in Zimbabwe
“Tsitsi Dangarembga was arrested for exercising her right to peaceful protest. Her arrest and the long drawn out trial against her is clearly intended to send a frightening message… More
PEN America Applauds Congressional Resolutions Condemning Book Bans and Affirming the Right to Free Expression in Schools
"Book bans are a blatant affront to free expression, the lifeblood of our democracy,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs. “Encroachments… More
PEN America Calls for Immediate Release of Burmese Artist and Activist Htein Lin Detained in Yangon
“The arbitrary and sudden arrests of Vicky Bowman and Htein Lin are yet more examples of the sweeping and abusive power that the military junta has wielded since its… More