Kirill Serebrennikov | Status: On Trial | Russia
Kirill Serebrennikov, a prominent Russian theater director, was put under house arrest on August 23 on charges of fraud. More
Charges Must be Dropped Against Two Zimbabwean Filmmakers and Two Other Artists For Film Screening
“The Zimbabwean authorities’ targeting of filmmakers and culture professionals is an alarming attack on artistic freedom,” said Julie Trébault, Director of the Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) at PEN… More
Miami City Commission’s Ending “One-Way Cultural Exchange” with Cuba an Absurd Approach to Protesting Artistic Repression
Restricting cultural exchange and artistic expression is an absurd way to address the repressive environment for artistic freedom in Cuba. The Miami City Commission is right to be outraged… More
DARE: 3 Saudi rights activists temporarily released
Three Saudi women's rights activists have been released, including 2019/PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Eman Al-Nafjan (see PEN America's reaction here, and find out more about Al-Nafjan, as… More
DARE: More Lawyers, Reporter Stopped and Questioned at Border by U.S. Officials
More lawyers and journalists stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border by Customs and Border Protection officials. Cook County judge blocks ProPublica Illinois from publishing any identifying information in a child… More
Institutionalizing Censorship: Cuba’s Decree 349 Poses Expansive Restrictions on Artistic Freedom, PEN America Artists at Risk Connection White Paper Warns
Sounding the alarm on the Cuban government’s grave new policy with potentially catastrophic effects for independent artists, PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) issued Art Under Pressure: Decree… More
“It is Our Duty to be the Voice of the Voiceless”: An Interview with Filmmaker Agnieszka Holland
"This is a moment when we cannot just lock ourselves in our comfort zone, in our bubble, and believe that we have to speak only on what concerns us." More
DARE: Florida Sixth-Grader Arrested after Dispute with Teacher over Pledge of Allegiance
A sixth-grader in Florida is facing misdemeanor charges for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Nonprofit organization Fight for the Future... More
Increased Surveillance of Literary and News Websites Poses Threat to Artistic Freedom in Russia
“Extending this provision of the deeply problematic Yarovaya Law to a range of cultural and news websites, some of which have wide audiences, will essentially shut down important platforms for the… More
Visa Difficulties Faced by Actor Jorge Antonio Guerrero Highlight Barriers Facing Many Artists Seeking Entry into United States
"At a moment of heightened tensions and misunderstanding between the U.S. and Mexico, creative and artistic exchange becomes even more important. We are hopeful that Mr. Guerrero will have… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Reporters Without Borders (@rsf_en) is calling for a special independent team to investigate this week’s “shocking murder” of a Pakistani #journalist, saying there is “every reason to doubt” local police claims that it was a so-called honor killing. https://bit.ly/2XdGzZf
No jokes today friends, instead just a list of books by Black authors that I think you should pick up/preorder.
Because the best way to fight white supremacy is to confront it daily. And fiction is excellent at giving us those tools.
News website @openDemocracy reports that the U.S government is funding a website in Armenia that is spreading #coronavirus disinformation. https://bit.ly/3deO9st