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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Philip Roth Wins Inaugural PEN/Saul Bellow Award
PEN American Center, the nation’s preeminent association of writers, editors and translators, has announced that acclaimed novelist Philip Roth will be the first recipient of a major new literary… More
In Congress, PEN Presses for Action on Iraqi Refugees
In testimony presented to Congress this week, journalist and PEN Trustee George Packer urged the U.S. government to clarify and streamline the process for resettling Iraqis targeted for death… More
PEN American Center Elects Francine Prose as New President
PEN American Center, the 3400-member association of literary writers, editors, and translators, announced today the election of Francine Prose, the acclaimed novelist, short story writer, and essayist, as its… More
PEN, Co-Plaintiffs File New Challenge to “Ideological Exclusion”
Responding to the United States government’s most recent explanation for denying a visa to Tariq Ramadan, PEN American Center has joined with the American Academy of Religion, the American… More
PEN Joins in Condemning Suppression, Censorship of Climate Science
Following a House Oversight Committee hearing that probed censorship of government climate scientists, PEN and eight other leading First Amendment and academic organizations have called for continuing congressional oversight… More
PEN Alarmed by Murder of Armenian-Turkish Journalist
PEN, the international association of writers, is appalled by the news of the murder today of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, who was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul. More
Free Speech Groups Urge Court to Reject FCC Censorship
New standards adopted by the Federal Communications Commission to censor “indecency” on the airwaves are overly vague and unconstitutional, a coalition of 20 free speech organizations, community broadcasters, filmmakers,… More
Call for a Repeal of Article 301 in Turkey
In June 2005, following discussions about Turkey's possible ascension to the European Council, the Turkish government enacted a new penal code. Since its instatement over a year ago, the… More
Day of the Imprisoned Writer
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is marking the 26th Writers in Prison Day 2006 (November 15) with a campaign in defense of nearly 100 writers and… More
PEN alarmed at recent crackdown on writers in China
PEN American Center today expressed alarm about an apparent crackdown on dissident writers in China. Three writers, Zhang Jianhong, Yang Maodong, and Chen Shuqing, all members of Independent Chinese… More