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
2022 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award Honoree: Vladyslav Yesypenko
Vladyslav Yesypenko is PEN America's 2022 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree for the 2022 Literary Awards. More
2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award: Gail Newel and Mimi Hall
PEN America bestows its 2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award on Gail Newel and Mimi Hall. More
2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award: Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi
PEN America bestows its 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on Iranian writers Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi. More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering Tom Blackburn
“He was beloved among the staff because he was a marshmallow. He was a brilliant man. For all his brilliance, he could crack you up.” More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering Eric Spinato
“Filled with boundless energy, Eric made us laugh, never stopped, and was always creatively thinking of the next big and bold ideas. He was loyal and selfless.” More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering David Castellon
“He was one of the most dogged reporters I ever worked with. You don’t find many reporters like him anymore.” More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering David Ibata
“A calmer, kinder man never walked the earth (let alone a newsroom).” More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering Sekou Smith
“May we all be as kind, as talented, as hardworking, as in love with the game [of basketball] and the craft as much as Sekou Smith.” More
Journalism and COVID-19: Remembering Tiffany Shackelford
“Tiffany was simply a force of nature. Her sharp intellect was often revealed with a sly smile, wrapped in a bawdy sense of humor. She was a connector —… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
My latest op-ed on school librarians. @becalzada @technolibrary @MaryWoodard @KPekoll @OIF #Freadom @ashleyhopeperez @halseanderson https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/school-library-book-banning-bill-gop-abbott-lege-17857122.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vb3Bpbmlvbi9vdXRsb29rL2FydGljbGUvc2Nob29sLWxpYnJhcnktYm9vay1iYW5uaW5nLWJpbGwtZ29wLWFiYm90dC1sZWdlLTE3ODU3MTIyLnBocA==&time=MTY3OTcwNDU3Nzg4MQ==&rid=NDBiMmRkY2UtYTdjZC00NWU2LWE0NmQtMDZmMTlkNWE2OGIw&sharecount=MQ==
#ChildrensBooks
“#FirstAmendment rights do not stop at the schoolhouse door,” PEN America’s Nadine Farid Johnson reminds
@JudiciaryGOP, highlighting the need to prepare students for "life in a participatory democracy, one that requires us to debate, to understand & to discuss." #StudentsRights