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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PEN American Center Protests Conviction of Guatemalan Publisher
PEN American Center today issued a letter to Guatemalan authorities protesting the conviction against Raúl Figueroa Sarti, owner of the publishing house F & G Editores, on “spurious charges”… More
PEN American Center Names Steven L. Isenberg as Executive Director
PEN American Center, the largest branch of International PEN—the world’s oldest literary and human rights organization—today announced the appointment of Steven L. Isenberg as Executive Director, effective immediately. More
Appeals Court Reverses Decision on Exclusion of Foreign Scholar Tariq Ramadan
PEN American Center today hailed a federal appeals court ruling in its case challenging the exclusion of the Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan from the United States, and expressed the… More
100 International Writers Call for Release of Journalist Maziar Bahari in Iran
PEN American Center and PEN Canada today sent an open letter signed by over 100 of the world’s most prominent writers calling for the release of Canadian-Iranian journalist and… More
PEN American Center Condemns Murder of Natalia Estemirova
PEN American Center today expressed outrage over the murder of journalist and human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, who was found dead today in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. Estemirova… More
Writers Condemn Formal Arrest of Chinese Colleague Liu Xiaobo
After spending more than six months in detention without charge or trial, prominent writer and literary critic Liu Xiaobo was formally arrested in Beijing on June 23 and charged… More
More than Six Months on, Liu Xiaobo Remains in Detention
PEN American Center protested the continued detention of prominent writer Liu Xiaobo today with a letter to Chinese authorities, citing the clear violation of international and Chinese law. As… More
PEN Translation Fund Announces Its 2009 Grant Recipients
The PEN Translation Fund, now in its sixth year, is pleased to announce the winners of its 2009 competition. Out of a field of precisely 100 applicants, the Fund’s… More
PEN American Center Announces 2009 Literary Award Recipients
Kwame Anthony Appiah, president of PEN American Center, the national association of literary writers, and Elissa Schappell, chair of PEN’s Literary Awards Committee, have announced the recipients of the… More
On World Press Freedom Day, PEN Launches Americas Campaign
PEN American Center is marking World Press Freedom Day today by launching the “Freedom to Write in the Americas” campaign which will run through the rest of 2009, and… More