Margaret Atwood Unveils Fireproof Copy of Bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale To Be Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Support of PEN America
‘Powerful Words Can Never Be Extinguished’ (NEW YORK)--Nearly 700 supporters of PEN America's work to defend free expression reacted with cheers and applause at the organization's annual gala tonight after… More
Can the Written Word Make a Difference, as Global Threats Mount?
Writers Reflect on Peril at PEN America’s Emergency Congress of Writers By Suzanne Trimel Can the power of the written word meaningfully bring about change in a world threatened by… More
Displacement and the Life of a Writer: Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah Opens PEN World Voices Festival with Personal Remembrance and History
[caption id="attachment_220638" align="alignright" width="300"] An Evening with Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, PEN World Voices Festival 2022[/caption] “I believe that writing also has to show what can be otherwise, what it… More
Truth-Telling And Its Dire Consequences: PEN America Hosts Conversation with Writers Targeted by Authoritarians Around the Globe
By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK)—The difficult plight of writers living under authoritarian rule has been well-documented over decades, with some enduring impossibly harsh treatment for their truth-telling and resistance to… More
Joint Statement Condemning Charges in Cuba Against Maykel “El Osorbo” Castillo Perez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara
JOINT STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE CHARGES BROUGHT AGAINST MAYKEL “El OSORBO” CASTILLO PÉREZ AND LUIS MANUEL OTERO ALCÁNTARA IN CUBA [caption id="attachment_219919" align="alignright" width="300"] Maykel “El Osorbo” Castillo Perez, R,… More
Educational Gag Orders Seek to Enforce Compulsory Patriotism
Three New Bills Become Law in Florida, Mississippi, and South Dakota Monthly Roundup, March This post is part of a series from PEN America tracking the progress of educational gag orders… More
These 4 Florida Bills Censor Classroom Subjects and Ideas
These bills have been the subject of much public commentary, including an unfortunate amount of misinformation. To cut through the confusion, PEN America explains below the salient features of… More
War is Always a Danger for Journalists. This Time is No Different. But Press Freedom Itself is Under Siege, Too.
The war in Ukraine is putting a heavy burden on the journalists reporting on the ground, who are risking their lives to expose the truth. But this war--also a… More
The Crisis of Local News: Journalists and Members of Congress Look for Answers
By Suzanne Trimel (New York, N.Y.)-- Local news has been in crisis for close to two decades now but solutions have largely eluded an industry that just a generation ago… More
Q and A with Assistant Principal Toby Price, Fired by MS School After Reading “I Need a New Butt” to 2nd Graders
Toby Price, an assistant principal in the Hinds County (MS) School District, was fired on March 4 after reading a book to a group of 2nd graders over Zoom.… More
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