Stephenjohn Holgate | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I’m quite interested in the tensions of these things, how we are pulled in many different directions as the different bits of ourselves, musician, worker, lover and so on,… More
Florida College Should Reschedule Photography Exhibit after Dispute Over Reasons for its Cancellation
"As a public college, Daytona has an obligation to uphold academic and artistic freedom; if the revelations in this [anonymous] letter are true, it is a democratic imperative that… More
New Laws Target LGBTQ+ Students and Put Pressure on Teachers to Monitor and Report Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Schools
“This is an alarming trend that threatens to turn teachers into the sexuality and gender police of public education, forcing them by law to monitor the most personal of… More
New Report: Surge of Intrusive Legislation to Intimidate Teachers, Drive Self-Censorship in Schools
“This rising tide of educational intimidation exposes the movement that cloaks itself in the language of ‘parental rights’ for what it really is: a smoke screen for efforts to… More
PEN America: Calls to Remove a Book from Princeton U Syllabus Are “Highly Misguided”
If we scrubbed college campuses of any book that could cause any offense, we would be left with a fairly barren environment for academic inquiry. More
PEN America: Removing Block Button on Twitter/X Puts Another Nail in the Coffin of the Platform
“Elon Musk seems determined to make X (formerly known as Twitter) the least safe and least equitable social media platform on the internet. Before Musk acquired the platform, PEN America worked closely for years with Twitter's human… More
Police Withdraw Search Warrant for Kansas Newspaper After “Unconscionable” Breach of Press Freedom
“The withdrawal of a search warrant against The Marion County Record and the return of seized devices after a raid by law enforcement is a first step toward accountability… More
PEN America: Withdrawal by Arkansas of AP African-American Studies Course is “Reckless and Ideologically-Motivated”
PEN America’s Freedom to Learn program director Jeremy C. Young said: “In its zeal to copy Florida’s destructive policies, Arkansas has demonstrated that attacks on intellectual freedom in schools… More
PEN America: Using Artificial Intelligence to Ban Books Only Makes the Problem Worse
“There’s no good method for banning books, but the Mason City School District's decision to use AI technology to review and remove books is deeply misguided, undercuts free expression,… More
PEN America: Postponement of Mesa Az. Art Exhibit Due to City’s Objection Over Shepherd Fairey Work Sets Up a “Chilling Precedent”
The postponement of an exhibition in Mesa, AZ at the direction of city officials who objected to a piece by Shepherd Fairey sets up a “chilling precedent." More