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PEN America Urges Tennessee Gov. Lee to Reject Legislation that Would Subject Publishers and Book Distributors to Criminal Penalties for ‘Obscene Materials’ Sent to Public Schools

Press ReleaseApril 19, 2023

Jonathan Friedman, director of PEN America’s Free Expression and Education program, issued the following comments on the bill: "Regardless of what the supporters of this law say, it serves little… More

PEN America’s Free Expression Student Summit at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville

Friday, March 31, 2023 – Saturday, April 1, 2023 | 4:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET
 More Information

Nineteen Writers Win Coveted Awards in 2022 Prison Writing Contest

Press ReleaseSeptember 7, 2022

Caits Meissner, director of PEN America's Prison and Justice Writing program, said: "This year's submissions underscore the extraordinary resilience, individuality, and indomitable artistry of writers inside prisons. These indispensable… More

Removal of 327 Books with LGBTQ+ Themes by TN School District Is “Heartbreaking” Censorship

Press ReleaseAugust 25, 2022

Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education programs at PEN America, said in response to the news: “This is a heartbreaking case of administrative censorship and… More

A Movement to Bend the Arc: Keeda J. Haynes’ Memoir on Second-Chance Culture

Blog
By: Emma Stammen | August 17, 2022

Emma Stammen reviews Keeda J. Haynes' memoir, "Bending the Arc: My Journey from Prison to Politics" (Seal Books, 2021). More

Suzanne Nossel headshot

The PEN Pod: On Conflicts of Interest between Free Expression and Powerful Institutions with Suzanne Nossel

InterviewApril 2, 2021

“The most heartening piece of it is that the people of Myanmar, who for so many years lived under such brutal repression. . . They’re incredibly brave to take… More

Tennessee State Capitol

Discriminatory LGBTQIA+ Education Bill in Tennessee is Attempt to Silence Truth

Press ReleaseMarch 30, 2021

"This bill is an appalling assault on freedom of expression at its most basic level—the freedom to represent the truth of human existence." More

Headshots of Masha Gessen, Wesley Morris, and Suzanne Nossel

[VIRTUAL] A Conversation with Masha Gessen and Wesley Morris

Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CT
 More Information
Tennessee State Capitol

New Tennessee Law Represents Blow to Free Speech and Assembly Rights

Press ReleaseAugust 25, 2020

“To Tennessee officials, we say: Stop making it easier to arrest protesters. It is your job to safeguard constitutional rights, not tread on them.” More

shelves of books in a library

Tennessee’s Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act Would Censor Books, Jail Librarians

Press ReleaseFebruary 24, 2020

“This bill would empower a small group of people to act as morality police for entire communities and would punish libraries and librarians who act to safeguard the fundamental… More

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  • What's New
PEN America Condemns Transnational Repression of Chinese Political Cartoonist Badiucao in Poland
PEN America Calls for Immediate Release of Iranian Cartoonist Arrested After Posting a Satirical Cartoon on Instagram
White House Announcement of Anti-Book Ban Coordinator Treats Crisis with Deserved Seriousness
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression This Week

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