Kal Penn to Host 60th Annual PEN America Literary Awards—“the Oscars for Books”— March 2 at New York’s Town Hall
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for Literary Programming at PEN America, said, “Kal Penn epitomizes PEN America’s belief in the capacity of writers and artists to instigate social… More
PEN America Calls on Cooper Union to Reopen an Exhibit on the Legacy of Vkhutemas, a Design School Shuttered by Joseph Stalin
Kristen Shahverdian, senior manager of free expression and education, released the following comments: “Cooper Union’s decision to halt the opening of Vkhutemas: Laboratory of the Avant-Garde, 1920–1930 raises serious questions… More
Suspension of Virtual Library App by CA’s Orange Unified School District Is An Overreaction and Sets a Worrisome Precedent
Allison Lee, managing director of PEN America’s Los Angeles office, released the following comments: “The decision to immediately remove access to thousands of books for students due to a few… More
FL Governor DeSantis’ Proposals on Higher Education Pose a Grave Threat to Academic Freedom and Free Speech at Public Colleges and Universities
Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, said: “These proposals represent nothing less than an effort to substitute the dictates of elected officials… More
Prison Arts Collective and PEN America Collaboration on New Season of Outside:Inside Radio
Outside:Inside Radio started in 2020 as a means to expand PAC programming for incarcerated participants during the extensive lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hosted and co-produced by Kathie… More
College Board’s Revision of AP African-American Studies Curriculum Dilutes the Course Content in Apparent Capitulation to Censors
Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, released the following statement: "Coming in the current political climate, the proposed changes appear to be an… More
PEN America: Arrest of Protesters in Georgia on Broad and Vaguely-Worded ‘Domestic Terrorism’ Charges Could Chill the Right to Protest
“News that Governor Kemp and law enforcement in Georgia are arresting protesters on charges of ‘domestic terrorism’ is deeply concerning and could have wide-reaching chilling impacts on the right… More
PEN America Condemns Ongoing Russian Efforts to Stifle Independent Media and Civil Society
“The Russian Federation is using every tactic in the book to silence criticism and open debate. Laws that define organizations as ‘undesirable,’ that limit their options to receive funding,… More
PEN America: Meta Decision Lifting Trump Suspension To Hinge on How New Guardrails are Implemented and Enforced
“Meta’s decision to end its suspension of former President Trump from its platforms appears to be based on a reasoned weighing of current threats and the value of public… More
Bill to Ban TikTok is a Sweeping Resort to Censorship that Would Undermine Free Expression, Says PEN America
Proposals such as Hawley’s–including the recently introduced Terminate TikTok on Campus Act (H.R. 231), which would prohibit federal funding of higher education institutions unless they ban TikTok on institution-owned… 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