PEN America Responds to Texas Decision to Roll Back “Approved Vendor” Policy in Prisons
Moira Marquis, senior manager of PEN America’s Freewrite Project, said: “Any effort to limit literacy and access to information is censorship, which should not be the mechanism prisons use… More
UN Submission Documents Vietnam’s Serious Free Expression Violations
The Vietnamese government continues to stifle free expression, wielding laws as weapons to control narratives and silence voices that dare to imagine a different world. More
PEN America Welcomes Bill to Hold Foreign Governments Accountable When They Trample on the Rights of Dissidents Living in the U.S.
“Writers and artists around the world face continued threats to their safety by regimes seeking to force them into silence. Transnational repression compounds these threats, menacing the exiled and… More
PEN America Deplores “Vicious Attack” Against Israeli Civilians
Political conflicts, even when they involve grave denials of human rights, can never justify nor be resolved through attacks on innocent civilians. PEN America calls on all parties to… More
PEN America Applauds Nobel Peace Prize for Writer and Human Rights Activist Narges Mohammadi
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to imprisoned Iranian writer, human rights activist, and 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Narges Mohammadi recognizes her singular courage in standing against government… More
“Shocking Overreaction” as School District in California Closes Libraries to Hunt for Sexual Content After Complaint
“The decision by Superintendent Rankins-Ibarra to halt all school library services in the Escondido Union School District following “the discovery” of one book alleged to be “sexually explicit” is… More
Band of Bestselling Authors Stand Against Book Bans in Florida and Nationwide
“What PEN America is doing in Florida is very important to us and our neighbors,” said Michael Connelly. “We have been astonished to see books ripped off the shelves and… More
Concern Raised Over Cancellation of Panel at Anthropology Meeting
(NEW YORK)— Last week, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) removed a panel from their annual meeting program, set to take place next month in… More
Fear that New Texas Policy Will Limit Books Allowed in Prisons
(NEW YORK)— Without notification, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has apparently implemented an “approved vendor” policy for its prisons, a type of censorship that PEN America opposes… More
Banned Books Week 2023 Open Letter and Call to Action: We Believe in the Freedom to Read
For Banned Books Week 2023, PEN America and We Believe gathered a consortium of publishers and nonprofit organizations to rally behind the freedom to read with an open letter.… More