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 Concerned About Terms of Release of Cyber-Dissident in China
After one month in detention, Chinese internet writer and dissident Wang Dejia (pen name Jing Chu) was released on January 12, 2008 after agreeing not to write anything political… More
Activist Hu Jia Arrested in China: Number of Jailed Writers Rises to 42
The arrest last week of high-profile activist and blogger Hu Jia in Beijing is raising concerns that the Chinese government may be ratcheting up its efforts to control internal… More
PEN Condemns New Detention of Cyber-Dissident in China
Writers in the United States and Canada joined Chinese colleagues today in condemning China’s latest detention of a dissident for online commentaries about human rights in China. With the… More
Chinese Police Preventing Prominent Chinese Writers from Meeting in Beijing
Chinese police have detained two writers and issued warnings and posted guards outside the homes of dozens of others to prevent the Independent Chinese PEN Center from holding an… More
Writers Demand Release of Jailed Colleagues Before Beijing Olympics
World-renowned writers from China and North America marked International Human Rights Day today by launching 40:242 – We Are Ready for Freedom of Expression, a campaign that challenges the… More
Yahoo Settles Civil Lawsuit with Families of Chinese Cyber-dissidents
PEN American Center today welcomed the news that Yahoo has settled a lawsuit brought by families of Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning, two Chinese cyber-dissidents who were jailed for… More
Day of the Imprisoned Writer
In any given year, International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) monitors around 1,000 attacks against writers, journalists, poets, publishers and editors worldwide. These range from persistent harassment and… More
Announcing $10,000 Award for First Amendment Defender
PEN American Center and the Katherine Anne Porter Foundation today unveiled a new $10,000 prize for ordinary people who take extraordinary stands to defend the First Amendment in the… More
PEN Urges Senators to Insist on Clear Rejection of Abusive Interrogations
Disturbed by the reluctance of Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey to speak clearly and forcefully against torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment during his confirmation hearings… More
China Releases Tibetan Monk from Prison After 18 Years
PEN American Center today hailed the release of Ven. Ngawang Phulchung, a senior monk of Drepung Monastery in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa who was jailed in 1989 for… More
Support for the freedom to read with exclusive designs by Todd Parr, Mike Curato, Art Spiegelman, and more!
