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.
Blanket Ban on Indoor Protest at U of Florida Amounts to “Prior Restraint on Dissent”
"Of course, we hope that protesters will not shut down, shout down, or obstruct speech, but argument and protest have their place on campuses, even when they grow heated.… More
PEN America Welcomes Justice Department Ban on Seizure of Journalists’ Records
“Whether borne of concerns about national security or as a misuse of resources for political ends, the specter of criminal investigation casts a pall over the ability of journalists… More
Deep Concern Over Multiple Arrests of Writers, Artists, Musicians in Iran, Related to Repression Of Mass Protests Since September
“We are deeply concerned by the Iranian government’s forceful repression of free expression in response to this movement for democracy and human rights, and we condemn the targeted arrests… More
Florida Adopts Even More Punitive Provisions Against Teachers and Students To Implement New Controversial Education Laws
(NEW YORK)-- A new set of rules passed by the Florida Board of Education to implement controversial laws like the “Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop W.O.K.E” acts are “alarming”… More
New PEN America Report: Deep and Persistent Obstacles in Publishing Houses Impede Greater Diversity in Terms of Authors and Stories Told
“Publishers are the curators of America’s stories,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for PEN America’s Literary Programs. “They are gatekeepers who decide whose stories will be told… More
Five Year Prison Sentence Against Performance Artist in Russia Is “Unjust” Criminalization of Free Expression
PEN America called on the international community to speak out in support of Krisevich’s right to free expression. His works of protest art have long been targeted by Russian… More
Call for Release of Six Tibetans, Including 3 Writers, Sentenced to Prison on National Security-Related Charges
A report by Radio Free Asia on Tuesday revealed that the detained writers were sentenced last month on charges of “inciting separatism” and “endangering state security.” Poet and essayist… More
Two Federal Judges Announce Boycotts of Yale Law Grads for Clerkships
Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education programs at PEN America, released the following statement: “The boycott proposed by Judges Ho and Branch is both cruel and… More
PEN America Condemns State-Sponsored Execution of Ukrainian Orchestra Conductor for Reportedly Refusing Concert in Russian-Occupied City of Kherson
Ukrainian and international artists and writers were swift in their condemnation of Kerpatenko’s murder: “The history of Russia imposing a ‘comply or die’ policy against artists is nothing new.… More
PEN America Condemns Transfer of Vietnamese Writer Pham Doan Trang to Remote Prison
“From Pham Doan Trang’s lengthy incommunicado detention to the wholly disproportionate and unjustified sentence of nine years in prison handed down in her case last year, it comes as… More