Suspending Access to Library App Epic! Disregards Students First Amendment Rights, Says PEN America
Suspending access to 40,000 books without adherence to appropriate process, and with utter disregard for the First Amendment rights of the tens of thousands of students impacted, is a… More
Report: 1,586 School Book Bans and Restrictions in 86 School Districts Across 26 States
Book bans have targeted 1,145 unique book titles by 874 different authors, 198 illustrators, and 9 translators, impacting the literary, scholarly, and creative work of 1,081 people altogether. Texas… More
Florida Bill Would Let Parents and Citizens Challenge Any Book Used in Schools
"HB 1467 has been touted as a measure to increase school transparency," said Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America's Free Expression and Education program, "but the real aim is… More
Dohle Book Defense Fund Established to Combat Rising Threats to Free Speech and Open Discourse
The Dohle Book Defense Fund will boost PEN America’s initiatives to educate the public, partner with local community groups to advocate against censorship, track and expose the egregious assaults on… More
Florida ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill: Vindictive and Brazen Move to Halt Progress Toward Inclusion
PEN America calls Florida "Don't Say Gay" bill a brazen and vindictive effort to halt progress toward a more inclusive society. More
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Salman Rushdie shows us that free speech is life itself
Rushdie knows how vital, how serious the business of storytelling is. Yet in my encounters with him he never took himself seriously, writes @EricaWgnr in @NewStatesman #SalmanRushdie #FreedomToWrite https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2022/08/salman-rushdies-books-show-free-speech-life-itself
@PENamerica, K Desai @saliltripathi curate a majestic set of writers on #IndiaAt75. @SalmanRushdie midnight’s child says a writer's work is "stop the world from going to sleep." Here they write to keep India’s tryst with destiny to "awake to light and freedom." - incl Saumya Roy https://twitter.com/saliltripathi/status/1559033410034831360
When you make this many bureaucratic hurdles to kids reading books, and couple it with a climate of suspicion and surveillance, you are going to, ultimately, stop kids from reading books. It that's not the goal... what is? https://twitter.com/TheTNHoller/status/1558858550214115328
