Words on Fire: Authors Sound Alarm to Defend Free Speech
PEN America Symposium Celebrates 100 Years of Defending Free Expression and the Power of the Written Word By Suzanne Trimel (NEW YORK) -- As leading literary luminaries gathered to celebrate PEN… More
Prison Book Bans, Protect Mass Incarceration
I resist the dehumanization that prisons create, which is further maintained by unjust censorship. More
How to Stop Book Bans
PEN AMERICA NEEDS YOUR HELP TO #FREETHEBOOKS In classrooms, school districts, and libraries across the country, the freedom to read is under assault by restrictions and bans on books. Even as… More
America’s Censored Classrooms
This year, proposed educational gag orders have increased 250 percent compared to 2021. More
Ban on Sexual Health Textbooks Continues Torrent of Censorship in Florida
"This ban on sexual health textbooks in Miami-Dade is yet another alarming victory in a political crusade to place politically motivated constraints on what students can learn. It comes… More
Banning of Non-English Dictionaries in Michigan Prisons Tramples on Fundamental Rights
"To punish a broad segment of the prison population is short-sighted, in addition to trampling on prisoners’ fundamental rights.” More
Book Banning In Walton County Based On Misleading “Porn In Schools Report” Illustrates Alarming Influence Of Fringe Groups On Educational Censorship
School districts like Walton are letting bigoted, unfounded claims dictate access to literature for all Last week, reports circulated that Walton County School District in Florida decided to remove a… More
Suspending Access to Library App Epic! Disregards Students First Amendment Rights, Says PEN America
Suspending access to 40,000 books without adherence to appropriate process, and with utter disregard for the First Amendment rights of the tens of thousands of students impacted, is a… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
"Amy was busy at her job in the outskirts of St. Louis, Missouri, when the officer strode through her open doorway... Someone had called the police department and reported that she had been giving pornography to children, a criminal offense in Missouri." https://www.codastory.com/rewriting-history/missouri-libraries-book-ban/
Thank you @pen_southafrica for standing in solidarity with Chinese poet Zhang Guiqi and paying tribute to him on the Empty Chair Podcast.
We continue to call with @pen_int and @chinesepen_org for his release from prison. He is serving a six-year sentence on trumped-up charges.
"I don't even know what I'm not seeing anymore." @mattdpearce