Press Releases
PEN America experts are available for interviews with the press. Please direct inquiries to Suzanne Trimel, Senior Advisor, Communications and Media, at [email protected].
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2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners Announced
“In times of challenge great literature offers a desperately needed window onto other possibilities. We celebrate these extraordinary writers, and we thank them for keeping us nourished at a… More
Turkish Court Assigns Life Sentences to Journalists Ahmet and Mehmet Altan and Nazli Ilicak
These sentences are an egregious violation of the rights of Ahmet, Mehmet, and Nazli. Today's verdict serves as incontrovertible evidence of the severe erosion of Turkey's democracy, demonstrates that… More
PEN World Voices Festival 2018, with Theme “Resist and Reimagine,” Will Convene Writers, Artists, and Thinkers from the United States and Abroad to Plot Paths Ahead for Societies in Turmoil, April 16–22
PEN America presents the 2018 PEN World Voices Festival: Resist and Reimagine, this year’s incarnation of the renowned international literary festival, which will bring together the world’s foremost authors… More
2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega Freed After Almost Seven Years in Prison in Ethiopia
We are overjoyed that Eskinder has been freed, and call on the governments of Ethiopia and the United States to ensure that he can be speedily reunited with his… More
PEN America to Honor Imprisoned Myanmar Journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo with 2018 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award
“By simply doing their jobs, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo demonstrated exceptional courage, knowing full well the risks they were taking in pursuing this story. Yet they continued... More
New Video of Gui Minhai Fits Pattern of Coerced Statements Made at Behest of Chinese Authorities
"From the beginning, the Chinese government that has treated Gui Minhai as a pawn. They abducted him, moved him against his will, and kept him in illegal detention for… More
Threat of Prison Sentence for Two Turkish Filmmakers Marks Another Blow to Free Expression in Turkey
“The campaign of intimidation against Çayan Demirel and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu and the criminalization of their work is an egregious violation of human rights, and yet another example of the… More
2012 PEN/Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award Winner Eskinder Nega to be Released After More Than Six Years in Prison in Ethiopia
“We are overjoyed at news that Eskinder has been pardoned and is to be freed to reunite with his family and return to his writing. We hope that his release is immediate… More
Polish President’s Attempt to Criminalize Language around the Holocaust an Alarming Attack on Free Expression
"This law would silence anyone wishing to engage in open discussion, journalistic reporting, or academic debate about a complicated and devastating period in history. It is precisely the wrong… More
Tougher Sentencing Guidelines for “Unlawful Assembly” in Hong Kong Troubling, in Spite of Dismissal of Pro-Democracy Activists’ Sentences
"The overall result of today’s decision is a scary one for the future of protest in Hong Kong, given the approval of sentencing guidelines that seemed to be geared… More
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