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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Author Elif Shafak Acquitted in Turkey
Author Elif Shafak was acquitted of charges of “insult” at a hearing held today in the Beyoglu Court of First Instance in Istanbul, bringing to a close one of… More
Program to celebrate First Amendment champions
Eight individuals who have taken risky, at times harrowing stands on behalf of the First Amendment in recent months will discuss their experiences at an upcoming program on September… More
PEN announces new Festival director after worldwide search
PEN American Center, the 3,100-Member-strong association of writers, editors, and translators working to advance literature, defend free expression, and promote international literary fellowship, announced today that Caro Llewellyn of… More
PEN Welcomes Release of Ramin Jahanbegloo in Iran
PEN American Center welcomed today’s release of Ramin Jahanbegloo, an Iranian writer and intellectual who was arrested at Tehran airport on April 27, 2006, as he was about to… More
Akbar Ganji on Writing and Freedom of Expression in Iran
PEN welcomed Akbar Ganji, one of Iran's most prominent champions of human rights and freedom of expression, to New York City today to discuss writing, free expression, and recent… More
PEN Praises Ruling in Lawsuit Challenging Visa Denials
PEN American Center today hailed a court ruling challenging the U.S. government’s refusal to issue a visa to a prominent Muslim scholar, calling the court’s order to process Professor… More
PEN Welcomes Release of Algerian Newspaper Publisher, Mohammed Benchicou
PEN American Center welcomed today’s release of Mohammed Benchicou, a newspaper publisher whose paper’s independent reporting earned him a two-year prison term in Algeria. Benchicou, who received one of… More
PEN Congress reasserts the role of literature in a world without peace
Horst Köhler, Federal President of Germany, welcomed more than 450 writers from PEN Centres around the world to Berlin at the opening ceremony of International PEN’s annual Congress. President… More
Turkmen Writer Defeats Travel Ban, Arrives in United States to Receive PEN Prize
Capping a week of high diplomatic drama, prominent Turkmen novelist and dissident Rakhim Esenov boarded a plane last night in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to travel to the United States, where… More
Turkmen Authorities Threatening to Prevent Writer from Accepting PEN Prize
PEN American Center is protesting an attempt by the government of Turkeminstan to prevent prominent novelist and dissident Rakhim Esenov from traveling to New York to receive a 2006… More
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