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.
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
House Foreign Affairs Committee Unanimously Passes Global Online Freedom Act
PEN American Center today praised the House Foreign Affairs Committee's unanimous vote in favor of the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007, and urged Congress to move swiftly to… More
House Passes Historic Federal Shield Law: Bill Protects Public’s Right to Know
PEN American Center reacted with elation to yesterday’s bipartisan 398-21 vote in the House of Representatives in favor of the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007, calling the… More
China Cracks Down on Media on Eve of Party Congress
PEN American Center today expressed alarm over tightening controls on the media in advance of the 17th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which opens Monday in Beijing. A… More
PEN, Co-Plaintiffs Settle OFAC Lawsuit
PEN joined publishing industry co-plaintiffs today in announcing that they have successfully resolved their lawsuit against the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). OFAC has revised its… More
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