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PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award

The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award is a powerful tool in PEN America’s year-round efforts to end the persecution of writers and defend free expression. Established in 2016, this award is designed to honor a writer imprisoned for his or her work.

(From 1987–2015, the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award honored individual writers fighting for the right to free expression.)