Kal Penn to Host 60th Annual PEN America Literary Awards—“the Oscars for Books”— March 2 at New York’s Town Hall
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for Literary Programming at PEN America, said, “Kal Penn epitomizes PEN America’s belief in the capacity of writers and artists to instigate social… More
Bill to Ban TikTok is a Sweeping Resort to Censorship that Would Undermine Free Expression, Says PEN America
Proposals such as Hawley’s–including the recently introduced Terminate TikTok on Campus Act (H.R. 231), which would prohibit federal funding of higher education institutions unless they ban TikTok on institution-owned… More
Saturday Night Live’s Lorne Michaels and Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Will Be Honored at PEN America 2023 Spring Literary Gala, with SNL’s Weekend Update Co-Anchor Colin Jost as Host
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “Lorne Michaels’ unique brand of uproarious and fearless political and social sketches forever changed television and comedy. The political landscape wouldn’t be the… More
Over One Hundred Authors Across Eleven Categories Make Longlist for 2023 PEN America Literary Prizes
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief of literary programs at PEN America, said: “For 60 years, writers and translators selected for PEN America’s awards have brought us closer to unfamiliar lives… More
Brooklyn Public Library and PEN America Teaming Up to Train High School Students to Defend Against Book Bans, Promote the Freedom to Read
Student registrants may attend as many of the four sessions as they would like, however, full attendance and participation are required to receive a certificate of professional achievement from… More
PEN America Expresses Dismay Over Harvard’s Denial of Fellowship to Former Human Rights Watch Executive Director Ken Roth
There is no suggestion that Roth's criticisms of Israel are in any way based on racial or religious animus. Withholding Roth's participation in a human rights program due to his own staunch… More
Kate Ruane Joins PEN America as Inaugural Sy Syms Director, U.S. Free Expression Programs
(WASHINGTON)-- PEN America, the free expression and literary advocacy organization, today announced the appointment of Kate Ruane as the inaugural Sy Syms Director, U.S. Free Expression programs. Ruane joins… More
Arrest of Actress, Activist, Translator Taraneh Alidoosti is Another Blatant Effort to Suppress Human Rights in Iran
Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, said: "Taraneh Alidoosti is a highly talented actress who has long used her celebrity status to advocate for women's equality in… More
PEN America Calls on Elon Musk to Reverse Twitter Suspensions of Journalists
”It’s alarming but unfortunately not so surprising to see Musk silencing journalists or creating new content regulation rules on a whim, based purely on what he finds inconvenient for… More
First-of-its-Kind Manual to Help Swahili-Speaking Journalists and Human Rights Advocates Defend Against Online Harassment and Abuse
Note: Press release below in Swahili (NAIROBI, NEW YORK) — The literary and free expression group PEN America launched the Mwongo wa Mafunzo ya Unyanyasaji Mtandaoni, a Swahili-language manual to… More
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Great event tonight with @_joseolivarez @IsaacFitzgerald and @PENamerica for PROMISES OF GOLD. Dynamite young poets kicked off the night. We had an audience full of the kindest people. So good! Poetry! Hooray!
Spoke to @jeremycyoung of @PENamerica about Florida’s higher ed restrictions & why they are “straight out of the global authoritarian playbook”
https://www.codastory.com/rewriting-history/floridas-university-restrictions/
Join us and actor, author, and former Obama White House aide Kal Penn at the 2023 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony on March 2. https://pen.org/event/2023-pen-america-literary-awards/