The Topics Teachers Are Too Afraid to Teach
Frederick Douglass, women’s suffrage, jazz and the blues, Batman, reproductive biology, philosophy. In states with restrictive educational policies, teachers and professors have questioned if they are allowed to teach… More
PEN America: ‘Distressing’ That Indiana Library Is Moving Teen Books to the Adult Section
PEN America expressed distress over the decision by Indiana’s Hamilton East Public Library to move more than 1,300 Young Adult books to its adult section under a new policy… More
‘Rainbowland’ Teacher Melissa Tempel Prepares Lawsuit
Melissa Tempel was fired after tweeting that her first-graders weren't allowed to sing 'Rainbowland.' Now she's speaking out. More
PEN America: ‘This escalating battle for control over free expression in education should worry us all’
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel testified that the rise in educational gag orders and "escalating battle for control over free expression in education should worry us all." More
Oklahoma teacher is still fighting book bans, now from Brooklyn
Summer Boismier lost her job after she gave students a QR code to the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned project. Now she’s helping teens fight book bans. More
Reported Decision by Morocco to Withdraw Lesbian Diaries Title from International Book Fair Violates Free Speech and Artistic Expression
“Withdrawing Lesbian Diaries violates Fatima Zahra Amzkar’s rights to free speech and artistic expression while also undermining the rights of LGBTQ+ communities to equality and dignity. The International Book… More
Banning of Non-English Dictionaries in Michigan Prisons Tramples on Fundamental Rights
"To punish a broad segment of the prison population is short-sighted, in addition to trampling on prisoners’ fundamental rights.” More
Firing of Princeton University Professor Raises Questions Over Free Expression and Due Process
Without clear indications that offensive speech forms part of a pattern of harassing conduct, the expression of controversial or even offensive views should not be the impetus for the… More
Florida High School Activist Jack Petocz, Organizer of Protests Against Book Bans and “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, Honored with 2022 PEN/Benenson Courage Award
Asia Kate Dillon said: “I hear from young people that seeing my character on Billions has helped them understand their own gender identity – and that this allowed them… More
In a Moment of Dire Threat to Free Expression, PEN America Literary Gala Celebrates Writers, Visionaries, and Truth-Tellers
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “In unimaginable times, we need the imagination, and specifically authors’ imaginations as manifest in the written word, to force us to reckon with… More