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Nikki Grimes and Padma Venkatraman headshots

PEN Pals: Nikki Grimes and Padma Venkatraman Discuss Challenged Books

InterviewNovember 2, 2021

“I created my [Dyamonde Daniel book] series so that emerging Black readers would see themselves represented in that genre.” More

Suzanne Nossel headshot

The PEN Pod: On Authoritarianism, Abortion Restrictions, and Protecting the Freedom to Learn

InterviewSeptember 17, 2021

“They are people who deserve our support, who’ve been working as human rights defenders inside their countries, who now are faced with the loss of their livelihood.” More

Protecting the Freedom to Learn: A Banned Books Week Reading List book covers

Protecting the Freedom to Learn: A Banned Books Week Reading List

Recommended Reading

In this reading list, we’ve chosen to spotlight 10 of the 19 books slated for removal or suspension in the Leander Independent School District in Texas. More

Headshots of Chris Tomlinson, Ashley Hope Hérez, and Jonathan Friedman; on top: “Banned Books Week 2021” in a red banner and “A Conversation with Chris Tomlinson and Ashley Hope Pérez moderated by Jonathan Friedman”

A Conversation with Chris Tomlinson and Ashley Hope Pérez

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm CT
 More Information
Texas flag on flagpole

A Texas Book Ban is an Attack on the Freedom to Learn

Blog
By: Jonathan Friedman | August 17, 2021

Months after the Leander Independent School District banned books and graphic novels from its secondary school curriculum, the district released decisions on an additional set of titles. More

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  • What's New
PEN America Responds to Florida School District’s Offer to Remove LGBTQ Pages from Yearbook
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Grace E. Lavery
PEN America Decries Continued Imprisonment of Poet Galal El-Behairy, Who is Prepared to Escalate his Hunger Strike by Refusing Water
PEN America Defends as Protected Speech a City University of New York Law Student’s Commencement Criticism of Israel and New York Police

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