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].
At a time of unprecedented attacks against the free press, PEN America Members are taking action. Join us today.
PEN America to Honor Thrill Master Stephen King for Lifelong Contributions to Literature and Commitment to Free Expression
PEN America confers the Literary Service Award each year to a critically-acclaimed writer whose body of work helps us understand and interpret the human condition, engendering empathy and imagination… More
Detained Bangladeshi Blogger Asad Noor Should be Released and Given Protection
Bloggers like Asad Noor live in fear of physical attack or even murder from extremist groups on the one hand, and then face persecution from their government on the other. We… More
Vote to Reauthorize Warrantless Surveillance a Blow to Free Expression
The House vote to reauthorize warrantless surveillance poses an acute threat to free expression across the globe, but it is doubly concerning given President Trump's apparent willingness to target… More
Trump’s Threat to “Take a Strong Look” at Libel Laws an Attack on U.S. Constitution
Under the First Amendment people are free to denigrate and offend the president or anyone else, a freedom with which the president should be well-acquainted given his own penchant… More
Myanmar Must Release Detained Reuters Journalists Wa Lone and Moe Aung Immediately
The ongoing detention of Wa Lone and Moe Aung, coupled with the threat of serious criminal charges being levied against them, is a blatant attempt to intimidate the press… More
New York State’s Efforts to Restrict Access to Books in Prisons Shows Troubling Disregard for Right to Read
The State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision needs to promote policies that uphold inmates' access to information and safeguard the right to read. Directive 4911A, a ruinously over-broad… More
Arts and Free Expression Groups File Amicus Brief in Pulphus v. Ayers
If the First Amendment stands for one thing, it's that the government can't censor art because it offends or provokes. The Congressional Art Competition is meant to reflect the… More
PEN America and PEN Center USA Move to Unite Writers Coast to Coast to Strengthen Defense Against New Threats to Expression
The decision to join forces was born of a shared sense of urgency to fortify our collective efforts at a time of unprecedented challenges to free speech here at… More
Egypt’s Harassment of writers chills freedom of speech and movement
NEW YORK—Simultaneous developments in the cases of writers Ahmed Naji and Alaa Aswany this weekend are indicative of Egypt's ongoing assault on human rights and free expression, PEN America… More
President Trump’s Efforts to Halt Publication of Critical Book Flagrantly Unconstitutional
The President should immediately withdraw and repudiate this outrageous demand, allowing the American people to render their own judgement of the book. More