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.
Statement from PEN International and the Council of Europe on Press Freedom Day
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the President of PEN International, John Ralston Saul, today made the following joint statement to mark World Press… More
Jailed Iranian Writer and Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Honored in New York
Salman Rushdie, E. L. Doctorow, Michael Ondaatje, and Jhumpa Lahiri were among the more than 570 PEN luminaries and supporters joining PEN American Center last night in honoring Nasrin… More
PEN American Center Announces Freedom to Write Fellowship
PEN American Center announced today that it has received a grant from the Ford Foundation to fund the position of Freedom to Write Fellow, a full-time, 18-month fellowship in… More
Banned Writer Liao Yiwu, Salman Rushdie Exchange Messages, Solidarity
In a remarkable exchange of letters made necessary by the Chinese government’s refusal to allow acclaimed writer Liao Yiwu to travel to New York for the PEN World Voices… More
Chinese Government Bars Writer Liao Yiwu From Attending PEN Festival in New York
PEN American Center today condemned the Chinese government’s refusal to allow celebrated author Liao Yiwu to attend the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature, which opens Monday in… More
PEN American Center Announces New Emerging Writers Awards
PEN American Center, the largest branch of the world’s oldest literary and human rights organization, announced today the creation of the PEN Emerging Writers Awards, established to promote talented… More
Top PEN Prize to Honor Nasrin Sotoudeh, Jailed Iranian Lawyer, Writer, Activist
PEN American Center today named Nasrin Sotoudeh, a writer, lawyer, and leader of the women’s and children’s rights movement in Iran, as the recipient of its 2011 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith… More
Afghan Writer and Activist Malalai Joya Granted U.S. Visa
Two days after PEN joined with the ACLU and the American Association of University Professors to protest the denial of a visa to Malalai Joya, a renowned women’s rights… More
Chinese Writer Liu Xianbin Sentenced to 10 Years for Inciting Subversion
PEN American Center condemned the 10-year sentence handed to writer and PEN member Liu Xianbin last week on charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” calling the conviction for… More
Writers Hail U.N. Accord Ending Push to Ban Blasphemy
PEN American Center today praised the U.N. Human Rights Council for ending efforts to restrict speech considered offensive to religions, calling the Council’s recent unanimous vote on a religious… More
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