PEN America Finds Missouri Schools Banned Nearly 300 Books Since August, in Response to New Law Criminalizing “Explicit Sexual Material”
The letter reminds school district officials that, “Book bans limit opportunities for students to see themselves in literature and to build empathy for experiences different from their own. They… More
PEN America Responds to Questions Raised about Book Bans in the Central York, PA Schools
(NEW YORK)-- In response to questions raised about the banning of books in the Central York, PA school district, PEN America issued the following statement: In fall 2021, a list… More
PEN America Applauds Congressional Resolutions Condemning Book Bans and Affirming the Right to Free Expression in Schools
"Book bans are a blatant affront to free expression, the lifeblood of our democracy,” said Nadine Farid Johnson, managing director of PEN America Washington and Free Expression Programs. “Encroachments… More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Varian Johnson asks if book bans are meant to ‘keep a certain population of our country down’
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Varian Johnson, author of The Parker Inheritance, which has been banned twice in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Kyle Lukoff on the ‘desperate importance’ of fighting book bans
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Kyle Lukoff, author of Call Me Max, which has been banned twice in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Ashley Hope Pérez on how book bans are failing our children
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Ashley Hope Pérez, author of Out of Darkness, which has been banned 23 times in the 2021-2022 school year. More
Book Bans: Frequently Asked Questions
Today, books in the US are under profound attack. They are disappearing from library shelves, being challenged in droves, being decreed off limits by school boards, legislators, and prison… More
Banned in the USA Q&A: Kalynn Bayron calls challenges ‘clearly homophobic’
For Banned Book Week, PEN America interviews Kaylnn Bayron, author of Cinderella is Dead, which has been banned at least three times in the 2021-2022 school year. More
A Tip Sheet for Librarians Facing Harassment
This guide will help librarians mobilize and respond when there are campaigns to remove their books from their shelves that devolve into harassment. More
New Report: 2,500+ Book Bans Across 32 States During 2021-22 School Year
“While we think of book bans as the work of individual concerned citizens, our report demonstrates that today's wave of bans represents a coordinated campaign to banish books being… More
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PEN America On 
Fri, Dec 2, 7:00 PM–8:30 PM EST. Join PEN America at the @BKLYNlibrary, for Break Out 2022 to celebrate the launch of the 2022 PEN America Prison Writing Awards anthology, Variations on an Undisclosed Location, read by an incredible roster of readers:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/break-out-celebrating-the-2022-pen-america-prison-writing-award-winners-tickets-433513068257
We are thrilled to see @TiyaMilesTAM, the 2022 PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction winner, as recipient of the 2022 #CundillHistoryPrize. A huge congratulations!
@vamelina the @PENamerica [email protected] report on cultural destruction by Russian Federation just released in Kyiv. English version here: https://pen.org/report/ukrainian-culture-under-attack/' Ukrainian version to follow soon. 🙏 for letting us use your tweets.