“I Started to Write the Way I Needed To”: An Essay by 2019 Emerging Voices Fellow T.K. Lê
"There is no time left to be small. This year, I took a risk: I called myself a writer, and I started to write the way I needed to." More
“What Matters is the Writing Itself”: A PEN Ten Interview with the 2018 Los Angeles Literary Award Winners
"Every step of the writing process is also a choice to include or exclude, and being aware of our own biases in making those choices seems necessary." More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
In response to recent efforts to ban books and intimidate teachers and librarians, we're giving voice to the challenged creators of books for children and young adults. Read our latest PEN Pals conversation between @ashleyhopeperez & @padmatv: https://bit.ly/3G1QvJ7.
This remains very much an attack on books about LGBTQ+ identities and race. Just look at 3 places books are being removed en masse.
First: Virginia Beach. We @PENamerica sent a letter with @ncacensorship and others last month after books were removed. /2 https://ncac.org/news/virginia-beach-toni-morrison-lawn-boy-banned
As the @coe Committee of Ministers meets this week, we reiterate urgent pleas to launch infringement proceedings against #Turkey for violating the @ECHR_CEDH ruling to #FreeOsmanKavala. Read about Kavala's detention and the #FreedomToWrite in Turkey: http://bit.ly/3xCK6kJ
