The Cop in Your Head: On Andy West’s “The Life Inside”
PEN America's Tomás Miriti Pacheco reviews Andy West's "The Life Inside: A Memoir of Prison, Family and Philosophy" (Picador, 2022). More
A Movement to Bend the Arc: Keeda J. Haynes’ Memoir on Second-Chance Culture
Emma Stammen reviews Keeda J. Haynes' memoir, "Bending the Arc: My Journey from Prison to Politics" (Seal Books, 2021). More
“Do you really want to know why the caged bird sings?”: On Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir
Emma Stamen reviews Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir Bird Uncaged (Bold Type Books, 2021) More
Addiction, Subjectivity, and Selfhood: Introducing David Sanchez’s First Novel, “All Day is a Long Time”
Prison and Justice Writing Fellow Emma Stammen speaks with writer David Sanchez about his debut novel, "All Day is a Long Time." More
Best Practices for E-reader Tablets in Carceral Institutions
Produced by the Coalition for Carceral Access in Literature and Learning (C.A.L.L.) The introduction of e-reader tablets to carceral institutions is a new and growing trend. When implemented in a… More
Chinese Authorities Poised to Put Activists Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi On Trial, PEN America and China Human Rights Defenders Warn
Chinese authorities may use the lull around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to subject prominent human rights defenders to unfair trials while much of the international community is… More
PEN America Reacts to DarkMatter Lawsuit
“Al-Hathloul’s suit is a courageous contribution to establishing that accountability and our collective safety." More
PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remain World’s Top Jailers of Writers
In PEN America’s annual census of detained writers worldwide, The Freedom to Write Index, the literary and free expression group found that in 2020, at least 273 writers, academics,… More
PEN America Welcomes Release of Turkish Journalist Ahmet Altan
PEN America today welcomed the news that Turkish journalist Ahmet Altan has been released from prison after spending more than four years behind bars. More
Bangladeshi Cartoonist Released on Bail, But Charges Must Be Dropped
Imprisoned Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kishore was granted bail today on health grounds after nearly a year in detention. More
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Four years ago, #JamalKhashoggi was murdered on orders of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Today, Saudi writers and critics are jailed for decades, as Mohammed bin Salman’s power expands. We continue to demand #JusticeForJamal and the #FreedomToWrite: https://pen.org/advocacy-case/jamal-khashoggi/
Festival Day is still on for today! All of our programs have moved INDOORS!
💔Unfortunately, we've had to cancel our Literary Marketplace due to the wind. You can still support them all online! And we look forward to having them next year!
Here at PEN America, we have long documented the threat #disinformation poses to public discourse and empowerment. To counter that threat, we launched our media literacy program, Knowing the News in 2020. https://pen.org/knowing-the-news/ (1/3)