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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New PEN America Manifesto on Translation: A Call for Change to Counter Historic Racial and Gender Inequities in the 21st Century
Allison Markin Powell, a member of the Translation Committee who led the group that drafted the manifesto, said: “The manifesto’s call to action emphasizes that translation is a form… More
Government Seizure of Book Critical of Tunisian President Is Another “Alarming Sign” of Deteriorating Democracy in the Country
(NEW YORK)— PEN America today condemned Tunisian President Kais Saied, who gave a speech about freedom of thought to open the country's national book fair, only to then have… More
New Report: 16 Writers and Public Intellectuals Jailed in Belarus in 2022, with 33 Writers at Risk for Persecution
“Belarusian culture does not have a place in its own country,” said Polina Sadovskaya, Eurasia and Advocacy Director at PEN America. “In 2022, the jailing of writers and public… More
Saudi Arabia Among World’s Most Repressive Countries for Free Expression, with 20 Writers Jailed and Others Facing Persecution
Justin Shilad, PEN America’s research and advocacy lead for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “Saudi Arabia’s continued presence in the PEN America Freedom to Write index points… More
New PEN America Report: Crackdown on Anti-Government Protests in Iran Swells the Number of Jailed Writers
“Iran’s creative community—long at the forefront of fighting for free expression and human rights—was singled out as part of a broader crackdown on dissent in 2022,” said Karin Deutsch… More
China Again the World’s Largest Jailer of Writers, with Free Expression Under Continued Assault
“Writers have faced the full might of the Chinese Communist Party’s security apparatus,” said Angeli Datt, who leads PEN America’s China research and advocacy. “They’ve been harassed, disappeared, detained,… More
PEN America Report: China & Iran Top List of the Worst Jailers, Abusers of Writers
“Writers have long been and continue to be some of the first victims and intended targets of repressive governments,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write… More
PEN America Denounces Decision by Montana House to Bar Transgender Lawmaker from House Floor as a “Betrayal” of the Democratic Process
“This decision by the Montana House is deeply disturbing, especially on the heels of similar actions by the Tennessee legislature to expel lawmakers and silence protesterse,” said Kate Ruane,… More
Marking World Press Freedom Day May 1, PEN America Screens New Documentary and Talkback with Director-Journalist On Covering Besieged Mariupol
20 Days in Mariupol is the first feature-length documentary by AP reporter Mstyslav Chernov, an AP war correspondent and photographer for decades. He presents an unflinching account of the… More
PEN America Calls on China to Release Taiwan-based Publisher Li Yanhe
Li Yanhe had published books by Chinese dissidents and on subjects that otherwise would have been banned by Beijing. He has given Chinese-language readers access to different ideas and… More