The PEN Pod: Keeping Hope Alive with Jewher Ilham
“Only standing up, speaking up, on my father’s behalf, on Uyghurs’ behalf, to work on something, then we can at least try to make a small change.” More
The PEN Pod: Defending the Freedom to Write with Karin Deutsch Karlekar
“[It’s] important to not just look at numbers and to give trends a human face, and to really look at the individual cases of writers and intellectuals behind bars.” More
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Imprisoned in Iran
Nasrin Sotoudeh is a human rights lawyer and public intellectual who has faced harassment and intimidation for years and spent time in and out of prison. More
Ahmet Altan, Imprisoned in Turkey
Ahmet Altan is the founder of Taraf, who was arrested for allegedly spreading subliminal messages on television before an attempted coup against Erdoğan. More
Galal El-Behairy, Imprisoned in Egypt
Galal El-Behairy is an Egyptian poet and songwriter. He was arrested and sentenced to prison for his criticism of the government expressed in his lyrics. More
Ilham Tohti, Imprisoned in China
Ilham Tohti is a writer and professor from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Tohti’s defense of human rights has made him a target of the Chinese state. More
Tell Imprisoned Writers: You Are Not Alone
This January, PEN America is collecting messages of solidarity to be delivered to imprisoned writers around the world. More
DARE: Addressing Bigotry from the White House
As President Trump attacks four Democratic Representatives of color with ever starker language of racism and nativism, news organizations are critiqued... More
DARE: Trump Signs Executive Order on Free Speech on College Campuses
President Trump signs executive order including terms that deal with free speech and inquiry on university campuses, drawing reactions from wide array... More
Tell Imprisoned Writers: You Are Not Alone
This December, PEN America is collecting messages of solidarity to be delivered to imprisoned writers around the world. More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Congratulations to this year's MacArthur Fellows! We're thrilled to see a number of PEN America friends who have worked with us & supported us over the years. @dwaynebetts @NicoleFleetwoo2 @DrIbram @DonMeeChoi @KeeangaYamahtta @NifMuhammad Daniel Alarcón https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/
TODAY: Join PEN America's @jzfriedman for a special in-person #BannedBooksWeek conversation in Austin to discuss recent threats to free expression in Texas featuring writer and editor @cltomlinson and young adult author @ashleyhopeperez. https://bit.ly/3hVudyX
