A woman with wavy dark hair and fair skin smiles slightly, wearing a black top, against a plain light gray background.

Lisa Tolin

Editorial Director

Lisa Tolin is the Editorial Director at PEN America, where she has expanded editorial production, launched video, and increased engagement on social media. Previously, Lisa was Head of Special Projects for TODAY Digital at NBC News, where she launched new content verticals and newsletters, oversaw SEO content strategy, and spearheaded new projects to turn the digital presence of the “Today” show into a leading lifestyle brand. She previously served as Supervising Editor for the Health, Wellness and Parents verticals at NBCNews.com and TODAY.com.

Lisa spent more than a decade at The Associated Press, managing departments in lifestyles and entertainment news after providing leadership to a team that launched asap, a vertical focused on the millennial audience, and working as supervising national editor and supervisor on the national news desk.

Lisa’s debut picture book, How to Be a Rock Star, illustrated by Daniel Duncan, published in August 2022 with G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Her next, Can You Imagine? The Life and Art of Yoko Ono, publishes in 2025 with Atheneum.


Articles by Lisa Tolin

A collage of colorful book covers arranged in a grid, featuring titles and authors in various fonts and styles, including vibrant abstract and photographic designs.
Wednesday November 26

Best Books of 2025: 15 Top Picks From the ‘Best of’ Lists

What are the best books of 2025? We looked at 2025 best book lists to find the very best, including “Audition,” by Katie Kitamura.

A vertical stack of books with visible titles, including Water for Elephants, The Handmaids Tale, and The Kite Runner, showcases thought-provoking stories often found on the banned books list 2024, alongside Crank and Thirteen Reasons Why.
Banned Books
Wednesday October 1

Banned Books List 2025

What books are banned in 2025? Thousands of titles have been removed from public schools across the country.

A collage of diverse childrens book covers, including titles like Crown, Dreamers, The Undefeated, Each Kindness, and Last Stop on Market Street, all featuring award emblems.
Banned Books
Wednesday September 24

Best Picture Books of the Past 25 Years? Too Bad They’re Banned

Nearly a quarter of Slate’s 25 “greatest” picture books have been counted in PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans since 2021.

More Articles by Lisa Tolin

Banned Books
Thursday July 17

596 Books Banned by Department of Defense Schools Include Titles on Democracy, Feminism, Racism

Four people sit on stage in front of an audience, engaging in a panel discussion. A screen behind them reads For the Love of Books, and several titles, including works by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, are displayed on the table between them.
World Voices FestivalLiterary Programs
Thursday May 1

2025 PEN World Voices Festival: On Censorship in American Theater

Four speakers sit on stage in front of a sign reading PEN America World Voices Festival, engaging in a lively panel discussion with an audience watching. Colorful book-like shapes decorate the background.
World Voices FestivalLiterary Programs
Thursday May 1

2025 PEN World Voices Festival Opening Night: The PEN and the State

A man in glasses and a suit speaks into a microphone against a blue background with blurred white text, celebrating the World Voices Festival 20th Anniversary.
World Voices FestivalLiterary ProgramsOrganizational
Monday April 28

For the Love of Books: 20 Years of the PEN World Voices Festival

A woman and a man sit on a stage with microphones, engaged in conversation. The woman wears a light-colored jacket and patterned dress, while the man wears a black suit and glasses, holding a notebook. A banner and bookshelf are visible in the background.
Literary Programs
Friday February 28

‘I’m not Begging for Your Love Anymore. I Simply Expect It’: Jennifer Finney Boylan on Her Evolution in Her New Book, Cleavage

A woman with a ponytail and glasses stands outside a door labeled Librarian in a library. She is wearing a green shirt and carrying a large blue bag. Bookshelves filled with books are visible in the background.
Banned Books
Friday January 31

‘The Librarians’ Film Shows the Toll of Book Bans

A collage of banned book covers, including titles like A Court of Wings and Ruin and Forever, is displayed against a lined paper background. The word BANNED is prominently overlaid in bold red letters.
Banned Books
Wednesday January 29

Utah Prevents Students From Bringing Banned Books to School

A collage of diverse childrens book covers, including some banned picture books, is displayed. Titles like The Family Book, Prince & Knight, A is for Activist, and And Tango Makes Three feature colorful illustrations and varied themes.
U.S. Free ExpressionBanned Books
Monday January 27

The 23 Most Banned Picture Books of the 2023-2024 School Year

A virtual meeting with four participants in a grid layout. Each person appears in their own room, discussing the impact of disinformation. Microphones are visible as they exchange ideas. Decorative elements and books are seen in the background of each influencers space.
Disinformation
Tuesday January 21

7 Ways Influencers Are Changing the Media Landscape

A vertical stack of books with visible titles, including Water for Elephants, The Handmaids Tale, and The Kite Runner, showcases thought-provoking stories often found on the banned books list 2024, alongside Crank and Thirteen Reasons Why.
Banned Books
Thursday December 12

The 11 Most Banned Books of the 2023-2024 School Year

The Freedom to Write museum exhibit, set against bold red walls, artfully weaves in the story of PEN. Text panels, framed documents, and manuscripts tell its tale. A central glass display case holds priceless historical items, all illuminated by spotlights that bring each word to life.
Organizational
Thursday November 14

The Story of PEN: New Exhibition Shows History as Writers Contemplate Ominous Future

Black and white image depicting social media app icons (X, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat) on the left and several voting booths adorned with American flags on the right. Red and white geometric shapes overlay the scene, subtly alluding to election disinformation.
Disinformation
Wednesday October 2

7 Top Election Year Disinformation Dangers, According to Experts

Four people stand smiling in a bookstore, holding tote bags with OPEN MINDS OPEN BOOKS text. Behind them are shelves of books and Barnes & Noble signage. Theyre participating in a panel event for Banned Books Week 2024.
Banned Books
Wednesday October 2

Banned Books Week 2024: PEN America Rallies to Turn the Page on Book Bans

Global Free Expression
Friday August 30

PEN America’s Russian Independent Media Archive: Preserving Words of Those Who Can’t Speak

Campus Free Speech
Wednesday August 28

In Preparing for Protests, Are Campuses Going Too Far?

Banned Books
Friday June 14

Celebrating the Right to Read: Bestselling Authors Stand Up to Censorship

Writing as Craft
Wednesday April 17

Salman Rushdie on His New Memoir: ‘I Had to Face This’