Best-selling Author James Patterson Donates $2 Million to Help PEN America Raise its Reach, Voice, and Influence
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said: “We are incredibly grateful to James Patterson for this catalytic gift which will help us increase our reach, voice and influence at a… More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Varian Johnson asks if book bans are meant to ‘keep a certain population of our country down’
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Varian Johnson, author of The Parker Inheritance, which has been banned twice in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Kyle Lukoff on the ‘desperate importance’ of fighting book bans
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Kyle Lukoff, author of Call Me Max, which has been banned twice in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Ashley Hope Pérez on how book bans are failing our children
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Ashley Hope Pérez, author of Out of Darkness, which has been banned 23 times in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Kalynn Bayron calls challenges ‘clearly homophobic’
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Kaylnn Bayron, author of Cinderella is Dead, which has been banned at least three times in the 2021-2022 school year. More
New Report: 2,500+ Book Bans Across 32 States During 2021-22 School Year
“While we think of book bans as the work of individual concerned citizens, our report demonstrates that today's wave of bans represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being… More
Q&A with Burbank Unified School District Students
To make Black literature only accessible to students taking advanced courses narrows the amount of students that are able to have the in-classroom reading experience with the guidance of… More
For First Time, Oklahoma Education Officials Punish Two School Districts for Violating Gag Order on Teaching Race and Gender
“This case demonstrates the dangerous chilling effect gag orders can have,” said Jeremy C. Young, senior manager for free expression and education at PEN America and author of the… More
Educational Censorship
Today, books in the US are under profound attack. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators, and prison… More
Order to Remove Dozens of Challenged Books in Texas, Including the Bible, Is an Appalling Violation of Students’ Rights
In response to the news, Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said: "The sweeping attempt to remove these titles from classrooms and libraries… More
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""I appreciate passion. I do," board treasurer Deb Fridsma said at the meeting. "But it is a slippery slope. You cherish your freedom, but what you're doing now is taking other people's freedoms away." #FreeTheBooks @PENamerica https://twitter.com/CBSEveningNews/status/1577802703727722496
Tonight, Pen America's Prison and Justice Writing celebrates Prince Shakur on the publication of his debut memoir, WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD (@Tin_House)!
@prshakur will be in conversation with Jamal Joseph at @ptknitwear in NYC at 7pm. RSVP here: https://pen.org/event/when-they-tell-you-to-be-good-prince-shakur-in-conversation-with-jamal-joseph/
At @NYHistory's #PEN100 exhibit, visitors see literary greats and champions of free expression, such as "Toni Morrison, Susan Sontag, @MargaretAtwood, Arthur Miller in conversation with each other because they are part of our history," says @ClarisseRS.