2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award Honoree: Narges Mohammadi
Narges Mohammadi, PEN America's 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. More
PEN America Applauds Nobel Peace Prize for Writer and Human Rights Activist Narges Mohammadi
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to imprisoned Iranian writer, human rights activist, and 2023 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Narges Mohammadi recognizes her singular courage in standing against government… More
Ali Al-Domaini | Status: Deceased | Saudi Arabia
Ali Al-Domaini is a poet and writer whose publications include three collections of poetry and one novel in Arabic. As a political activist, he has campaigned for a move… More
Vladyslav Yesypenko | Status: Imprisoned | Ukraine
Vladyslav Yesypenko, a freelance journalist for the Krym.Realii project at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained in March 2021 by the Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) while reporting in… More
2022 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award Honoree: Vladyslav Yesypenko
Vladyslav Yesypenko is PEN America's 2022 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Honoree for the 2022 Literary Gala. More
2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award: Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi
PEN America bestows its 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on Iranian writers Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi. More
Nasrin Sotoudeh | Status: Imprisoned | Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer, writer, activist, and former political prisoner, was abruptly re-arrested and beaten on October 29, 2023 as she was attending the funeral of… More
The PEN Pod: On the Virtual Gala and the Beauty of Human Rights Work with Suzanne Nossel
“There’s something about individual cases of dissidents—these are human stories, faces, and individuals with families and life trajectories. When you can help them, it’s so concrete.” More
Amid Tumultuous Year, PEN America Virtual Gala Celebrates Acts of Courage and Bravery by Those Who Stand Up to Oppression
"I’m heartened to think that this assembly of not always like-minded but always like-hearted writers and thinkers and advocates—that our assembly tonight points to our power.” More
Eskinder Nega | Status: Continued Harassment | Ethiopia
Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger who is one of Ethiopia’s leading advocates for press freedom and freedom of expression, served almost 7 years of an 18-year sentence… More
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