PEN America: Postponement of Mesa Az. Art Exhibit Due to City’s Objection Over Shepherd Fairey Work Sets Up a “Chilling Precedent”
The postponement of an exhibition in Mesa, AZ at the direction of city officials who objected to a piece by Shepherd Fairey sets up a “chilling precedent." More
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of August 7
PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out. More
PEN America: ‘Distressing’ That Indiana Library Is Moving Teen Books to the Adult Section
PEN America expressed distress over the decision by Indiana’s Hamilton East Public Library to move more than 1,300 Young Adult books to its adult section under a new policy… More
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of July 31
PEN America works tirelessly to defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. Here are some of the latest ways PEN America is speaking out. More
Manuscripts Don’t Burn: a Timeline of Literary Censorship, Destruction, and Liberation
As we reach a new turning point in the history of book banning, PEN America has compiled a timeline of the most notorious acts of censorship and how we've… More
PEN America Calls on Jordanian Officials to Lift Ban on Satirical News Site Al Hudood
“Blocking a website that publishes satire shows an intolerance toward criticism that is troubling, particularly when the same site is readily accessible in neighboring countries where the state of… More
Celebrate America’s Founding Bibliophiles on the First Day of July!
A loud minority demanding censorship has put a target on libraries— and library workers— demanding book bans on queer and trans authors and writers of color, the dismantling of… More
Proposal to Restrict Some Books Deemed “Obscene” from Minors in Huntington Beach, CA Is “Nothing Short of Censorship,” Says PEN America
Allison Lee, PEN America’s Los Angeles director, said: “Government officials weighing in on the minutiae of library collection management is nothing short of censorship. What Van Der Mark is… More
China Again the World’s Largest Jailer of Writers, with Free Expression Under Continued Assault
“Writers have faced the full might of the Chinese Communist Party’s security apparatus,” said Angeli Datt, who leads PEN America’s China research and advocacy. “They’ve been harassed, disappeared, detained,… More
Banned in the USA Spotlight: Mike Curato
Mike Curato's Flamer was tied for the most banned book in the fall of 2022 in PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans. He tells PEN America why he… More