Eileen “AJ” Connelly is a writer for PEN America. She worked as a journalist for decades to explain events and policies and help generate positive change. One of her earliest scoops, for a weekly newspaper, helped bring awareness to dangerous erosion at Montauk Lighthouse. As word spread, a Long Island-wide effort commenced to save the landmark. Later reporting, for the Staten Island Advance, helped to eliminate the Staten Island Ferry fare, and for The Associated Press, helped push Congress to enact tighter regulations on predatory lenders, particularly credit card companies. Most recently, she covered breaking news, including providing crucial information during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a reporter and editor for the New York Post, while also teaching journalism at Baruch College, City University of New York.
AJ Connelly
Articles by AJ Connelly
Tuesday April 15
‘All children should feel safe to use the bathroom’: Sarah and Ian Hoffman on writing to create a culture of kindness
Allowing families to opt their children out of reading our books hurts the children whose lives and families are reflected in those books.
Monday April 14
‘Uncle Bobby’s Wedding is a gentle little story about a family’: Sarah S. Brannen’s 20-year fight for LGBTQ+ children’s books
I don’t know if parents have the right to control what their children read, but I’m absolutely sure they don’t have the right to control what other people’s children read.
Monday April 14
Authors Speak Up About Their Books Being Misrepresented in a Lawsuit Headed to the Supreme Court
“They’re books about happiness and joy and sharing that happiness and joy with other people. They’re not preaching or coercing in any way.”