PEN America Condemns Online Abuse Campaign to Silence Dalit Author Thenmozhi Soundarara
“The attacks against author Thenmozhi Soundararajan and her allies are intended to drive voices from the public square and prevent them from being heard, which stifles free expression and… More
PEN America’s World Voices Festival Presents Conversations in Los Angeles with Great Writers, Thinkers, Artists, and Activists May 10-13
Allison Lee, PEN America’s Los Angeles managing director, said: “Bringing writers and creatives together with perspectives from across the globe makes this annual literary festival uniquely inspiring and aligned… More
PEN America Presents “Free Speech & Hate: History’s Lessons” April 27 at Tulsa Press Club, Tulsa, OK
By examining instances when the use of racial slurs, attacks on marginalized groups, and controversial creative expressions have sparked cultural change, this humanities discussion will tackle the question of… More
Disruption and Harassment at Riley Gaines Speaking Event Made a “Mockery” of Free Speech
“What happened at SFSU was a disaster,” said Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager in free expression and education. “Physical intimidation or violence is never an acceptable response to speech, no… More
PEN America Condemns Move to Expel Tennessee Lawmakers Who Protested on the Legislature Floor
“The right to protest is paramount. Community members have a right to be heard by the lawmakers who serve them, and legislators have a duty to represent the voices… More
PEN America Calls on Twitter to Remove “State-affiliated Media” Designation from NPR’s Twitter Account
“Twitter defines state-affiliated media as ‘outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.’ That… More
PEN America Index of School Book Bans – 2021-2022
PEN America's 2022 Banned in the USA report offered the first comprehensive look at banned books throughout the 2021–22 school year. This searchable banned book list includes each documented… More
Announcing PEN America’s 18th Annual World Voices Festival, May 10-13 in New York City and Los Angeles
Ta-Nehisi Coates, a MacArthur “genius” grant honoree, will deliver the festival’s keynote, the annual Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, May 11 at the New School on the book… More
Countering misinformation and disinformation about the indictment of former President Donald Trump
The public is likely to be inundated with conflicting information, some of it reliable, some of it accidental misinformation, and some of it deliberate disinformation. PEN America offers the… More
Frequently Banned Books Featuring Transgender Stories
In national efforts to ban books and restrict content on LGBTQ+ characters and themes, stories on transgender individuals and characters are commonly challenged and banned, making up about 9%… More