PEN America
Donate Now
  • Issues & Advocacy
    • Book Bans
    • Educational Censorship
    • Campus Free Speech
    • Disinformation
    • Online Abuse
    • Writers at Risk
    • Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)
    • Global Advocacy
  • Writers & Readers
    • Literary Awards
    • Grants & Fellowships
    • PEN Across America
    • NYC Literary Action Coalition
    • Next Gen PEN
    • Prison and Justice Writing
    • Workshops & Trainings
    • Writers in the Schools Committee
    • Children’s and YA Books Committee
    • Translation Committee
  • Festival & Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Banned Books Week 2023
    • 2023 World Voices Festival
    • 2023 PEN America Literary Gala
    • World Press Freedom Day 2023
    • 2023 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
    • Authors’ Evenings
    • PEN Out Loud
  • Read The Latest
    • Research & Reports
    • Take Action
    • Press Releases
    • Interviews & Features
    • PEN America Publications
  • Membership
  • About
    • PEN America at 100
    • About Us
    • PEN America Washington D.C.
    • PEN America Los Angeles
    • PEN America Racial Equity Statement
    • Leadership and Staff
    • Trustees
    • Careers
    • Digital Archives
  • Give
    • Donate Now
    • Become a PEN America Young Patron
    • More Ways to Give
    • Shop
PEN America
Donate Now
  • Advocacy
    & Action
  • Writers
    & Readers
  • Festivals
    & Events
  • Issues & Advocacy
    • Book Bans
    • Educational Censorship
    • Campus Free Speech
    • Disinformation
    • Online Abuse
    • Writers at Risk
    • Artists at Risk Connection (ARC)
    • Global Advocacy
  • Writers & Readers
    • Literary Awards
    • Grants & Fellowships
    • PEN Across America
    • NYC Literary Action Coalition
    • Next Gen PEN
    • Prison and Justice Writing
    • Workshops & Trainings
    • Writers in the Schools Committee
    • Children’s and YA Books Committee
    • Translation Committee
  • Festival & Events
    • Events Calendar
    • Banned Books Week 2023
    • 2023 World Voices Festival
    • 2023 PEN America Literary Gala
    • World Press Freedom Day 2023
    • 2023 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
    • Authors’ Evenings
    • PEN Out Loud
  • Read The Latest
    • Research & Reports
    • Take Action
    • Press Releases
    • Interviews & Features
    • PEN America Publications
  • Membership
  • About
    • PEN America at 100
    • About Us
    • PEN America Washington D.C.
    • PEN America Los Angeles
    • PEN America Racial Equity Statement
    • Leadership and Staff
    • Trustees
    • Careers
    • Digital Archives
  • Give
    • Donate Now
    • Become a PEN America Young Patron
    • More Ways to Give
    • Shop
  • Home

PEN America Report: China & Iran Top List of the Worst Jailers, Abusers of Writers

Press ReleaseApril 27, 2023

“Writers have long been and continue to be some of the first victims and intended targets of repressive governments,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write… More

Sentencing of Poet Wang Zang and His Wife to Prison in China Shows “Repressive Environment” for Free Expression, as PEN America Calls For Their Release

Press ReleaseDecember 13, 2022

“We condemn the sentencing of Wang Zang for exercising his freedom to write, and of his wife Wang Liqin whose only apparent ‘crime’ was advocating for her husband’s rights,”… More

Margaret Atwood Unveils Fireproof Copy of Bestseller The Handmaid’s Tale To Be Auctioned by Sotheby’s in Support of PEN America

analysis
By: Suzanne Trimel | May 23, 2022

‘Powerful Words Can Never Be Extinguished’ (NEW YORK)--Nearly 700 supporters of PEN America's work to defend free expression reacted with cheers and applause at the organization's annual gala tonight after… More

Dmirty Muratov and Maria Ressa

PEN America Overjoyed to See Two Defenders of the Freedom to Write Receive Nobel Peace Prize

Press ReleaseOctober 8, 2021

The free expression and writers' organization PEN America today welcomed the news that journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov will receive the Nobel Peace Prize. More

a fountain pen writes on a piece of paper; on top: PEN America logo and “Freedom to Write Index 2020”

PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Remain World’s Top Jailers of Writers

Press ReleaseApril 20, 2021

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

Barack Obama headshot

Barack Obama Receives 2020 PEN America Voice of Influence Award, Re-Embraces His Identity as a Writer

Press ReleaseDecember 8, 2020

“My politics, my public life, and my more interior writing life have never been that far apart," More

Barack Obama headshot

“James Baldwin Didn’t Have to Go Out and Get Votes.” Obama Reflects on Race, Dialogue, and Disinformation in PEN America Interview

Press ReleaseDecember 5, 2020

In an interview with PEN America, President Obama reflects on race, dialogue, and disinformation as the country confronts a new political future. More

Xu Zhiyong Advocacy Page

PEN America Announces Detained Chinese Essayist Xu Zhiyong as 2020 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award Honoree

Press ReleaseJune 4, 2020

"His essays have served as calls to conscience at pivotal moments in China’s recent history." More

collage of a prison overlaid with a handwritten note

PEN America: China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey Are World’s Worst Jailers of Writers

Press ReleaseMay 19, 2020

"The Index spotlights governments’ nefarious will to suppress truth and control the public mind by silencing writers who dare challenge authority." More

Flag of Egypt

Egypt Going to Extreme Lengths to Quash Dissent, Imprisoning Writers as Part of Broader Crackdown

Press ReleaseOctober 2, 2019

“The Sisi regime is engaged in a desperate but nonetheless brutal attempt to silence even the slightest expression of dissent." More

Posts navigation

1 2 3 next

Join PEN America Today

Defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture.

Subscribe

Get updates on events, literary awards, free expression issues, and global news.

 
 

Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!

SHOP

Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?

CONTACT ARC

  • What's New
PEN America Condemns Russian Government for Putting Journalist Masha Gessen on Most Wanted List
PEN America Speaks: How We Defended and Celebrated Free Expression The Week of December 4
Suspensions of Students for Justice in Palestine Chapters Raise Questions and Concerns about Chilled Campus Environments
In Amicus Brief, PEN America Argues Laws Restricting Content Moderation Online Are Unconstitutional
PEN America
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012
T (212) 334-1660 F (212) 334-2181
PEN America Los Angeles
1370 N. St Andrews Place
Los Angeles, CA 90028
T (323) 607-1867
PEN America Washington, D.C.
1100 13th Street NW, Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20005
Donate Today
 
Copyright © 2023 PEN America. All rights reserved.   |   Privacy Policy