PEN America Files Amicus Brief in Case Against Texas Law Requiring Ratings for Sexual Content on Books Sold to Public Schools
(NEW YORK)—PEN America has filed an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit in the case of Book People v. Wong, challenging Texas’s HB 900, which requires booksellers to “rate”… More
Scholastic Urged to Explore Other Options Instead of Limiting or Partitioning Diverse Book Titles At School Book Fairs
Despite the challenges of this climate, we call on Scholastic to explore other solutions so they can reject any role in accommodating these nefarious laws and local pressures, or… More
Fear that New Texas Policy Will Limit Books Allowed in Prisons
(NEW YORK)— Without notification, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has apparently implemented an “approved vendor” policy for its prisons, a type of censorship that PEN America opposes… More
Amid Crisis of School Book Bans, Banned Books Week Arrives Oct. 1 with Urgency to Defend the Freedom to Read
LINK to the PEN America Banned Books Week actions and events (NEW YORK)— With school book bans surging 33 percent over the past school year, this year’s Banned Books Week Oct.… More
Review of Over 20,000 Books in Georgia School District is “Outrageous”
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said: “This outrageous policy decision is sure to lead to censorship. Schools and school libraries must serve the information-needs… More
With Massive Book Banning in Prisons, PEN America Presents “Return to Sender: Prison as Censorship,” a NYC Exhibition Sept. 14-Oct. 28
Moira Marquis, an advocate in PEN America’s Prison and Justice Writing program, said: “More books are banned in prisons than anywhere else in the country and censorship is rising… More
Monthslong Campaign of “Baseless Claims and Conspiracy Theories” May Lead to Shutdown of VA Library
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said: “What is happening in Front Royal, Virginia should serve as a wake up call for anyone who cares… More
Temporary Ruling to Halt Implementation of TX Law on Book Ratings is a Victory for the Freedom to Read
Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America, said: “We welcome this decision to temporarily halt the implementation of HB 900. This law, which forces private companies… More
Hunt to Identify Books with “Sexual Content” Empties Some Library Shelves in FL County as Schools Open
"Empty library shelves serve as a stark symbol of the dangers of government overreach: until now, library purges have been the province of communist dictatorships and authoritarian dystopias. Now… More
Texas Law Requiring Book Ratings for “Sexual Relevance” in Schools Spurs Lawsuit
Jonathan Friedman, director, Free Expression and Education program, at PEN America, said: "This law is clearly an effort to intimidate publishers and police the circulation of ideas and information.… More
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