PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression This Week
PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out. More
PEN America supports challenge to DeSantis’ ‘Stop WOKE’ law
PEN America filed an Amicus brief in Honeyfund v. DeSantis, saying the law had a “profound chilling effect,” not only on employers like Honeyfund, but on educators across the… 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
Book Lovers Stage Read-In at State Capitol for ‘Let Utah Read’
PEN America was among the organizers of the protest against a rise in book bans in Utah. More
Laws restricting drag shows should scare everyone who believes in free expression
A wave of bills restricting free expression is building in state legislatures. This time, the target is drag performances. More
The Absurd Year in Educational Censorship, From Gay Penguins to the Gettysburg Address
It has been an absurd year for educational censorship. More
PEN America 2022 in Review: How We Defended Free Expression
In PEN America’s 100th year, our mission was as vital as ever. We celebrated words, and we fought for the right to be heard. With your help, we can… More
PEN America Urges Attorney General to Drop Charges Against Assange
PEN America joined with partner organizations to send a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling for charges against Julian Assange to be dropped. More
PEN America delegation to Ukraine bears witness to bravery of writers and citizens
A delegation from PEN America that included prominent writers Barbara Demick, Dave Eggers, and Peter Godwin visited Kyiv and witnessed the resilience of Ukrainian artists and writers. More
These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida
PEN America presented a joint letter with We Need Diverse Books and authors and illustrators of 176 books removed from classrooms in Duval County, Florida, in January 2022 for… More
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Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Every yr, people cycle through the doors of 3,000+ jails in the U.S.—too often invisible to the public.❗
That’s why @verainstitute & @PENAmerica created “The Human Toll of Jail,” featuring the stories of people living behind bars… https://www.vera.org/the-human-toll-of-jail-2023
Social media co’s are NOT enforcing their policies to limit disinfo, violence, other violative content. It’s not abt free speech, it’s abt companies doing what they’ve promised consumers. I @freepress wrote a report on tech failures in policy & practice:https://www.freepress.net/policy-library/empty-promises-inside-big-techs-weak-effort-fight-hate-and-lies-2022
"There was this history professor called Arthur Hibbert... he said, 'You should never write history until you can hear the people speak'... and I thought what a great piece of advice for a novelist," @SalmanRushdie tells David Remnick.
Listen free: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/tnyradiohour/episodes/salman-rushdie-surviving-fatwa