Unsealed: On That Old Rock Pile Prison Quilt Project
In this essay, Jeff Elmore explains his process of making paper collage quilts in prison, which he sends to anyone interested in receiving them. More
Introducing The Freewrite Project Zine
PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing Program presents a zine featuring work from creative writing workshop participants in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The workshops were framed around curriculum developed… More
Turning Sentences Around
In this Works of Justice exclusive, Robert Lee Williams reflects on how PEN America's "The Sentences That Create Us: Crafting a Writer's Life in Prison" (Haymarket Books, 2022) helped… More
These Books Are Banned in Urbandale, Iowa School District
PEN America sent an open letter to the Urbandale, Iowa school district to reverse an order to remove a list of nearly 400 titles. Here are some of the… More
The Culture Wars Are Coming for College Accreditation
An aspect of higher education governance has increasingly been targeted in legislative censorship efforts: college and university accreditation. More
On Prison Art and Music
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Program Manager Robbie Pollock highlights three projects centered on making music from prison: Heartbeat Opera, Die Jim Crow Records, and a recent book… More
Celebrate America’s Founding Bibliophiles on the First Day of July!
A loud minority demanding censorship has put a target on libraries— and library workers— demanding book bans on queer and trans authors and writers of color, the dismantling of… More
A Conversation with Brooklyn Public Library’s Justice Initiatives Program
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing Fellow Valentina Flores speaks with Brooklyn Public Library's Diego Sandoval-Hernandez on the work and offerings of library's Justice Initiatives Program. More
Against Retribution: An Interview with Daniel Pirkel
In this interview, Daniel Pirkel speaks with PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing Program about unnecessary policies that censor the work of incarcerated writers, and advocates for restorative justice… More
Damascus James on Witnessing, Letter Writing, and Solitary Confinement
Damascus James, editor of "TEXAS LETTERS," speaks with PEN America's "Works of Justice" podcast about what he learned from people who are in solitary confinement in Texas prisons. More