Established at our 48th Congress in 1986, World Writers’ Day honours the courage to write and the solidarity that protects it.
As writers face imprisonment, exile, censorship, and violence for speaking the truth, we stand with them and defend freedom of expression.
#Belarus: We join @penbelarus.bsky.social and partners in urging the authorities to stop confiscating and destroying the manuscripts and letters of those imprisoned on politically-motivated grounds, and to fully uphold cultural rights.
Read our statement ⬇️ www.pen-international.org/news/belarus...
Graphic from PEN International with a black and red background and the PEN International logo at the top left. Large white text on a red banner reads “WE’RE HIRING” with “Fundraising Officer” displayed below in a search bar style. A red button says “APPLY NOW.” At the bottom, smaller text reads: “Apply by sending your CV (max 2 pages) and a brief cover letter (max 1 page) to HR@pen-international.org .
We’re hiring a Fundraising Officer 🌍✍️
This is a part-time (3 days/week), remote role within our Development team, ideal for someone with UK charity fundraising experience who wants to make a real international impact.
More details: www.pen-international.org/join-our-team
@indexoncensorship.org @globalfreemedia.bsky.social
@insinews.bsky.social @rorypecktrust.bsky.social
@ebu.ch
CC: @cartooningforpeace.bsky.social @europeanjournalists.org @ifjglobal.bsky.social
@article19.bsky.social @pressfreedom.bsky.social
@ecpmf.bsky.social @aejbelgium.bsky.social
📑 We’re in Brussels for the launch of the 2026 report of @coemediafreedom.bsky.social. Press freedom in Europe remains under sustained pressure, driven by legal threats, attempts at media capture and transnational repression.
Read the full report ⬇️
www.pen-international.org/news/press-f...
⏲️ Europe Press Freedom Report available in 2 hours!
✅Data, analysis from 15 press freedom organisations and testimonies
Stay tuned to follow the live presentation at 10am CET👇
go.coe.int/LjTes
#EuropeForFreeMedia
Today’s poem from @pen-tlrc.bsky.social is “Dzigbɔɖi – La patience” in Éwé, from Hola Gomado by PEN Togo.
Spoken in Togo, Ghana & Benin, Éwé is a tonal language of around 6 million speakers, rooted in oral tradition and written with an adapted Latin alphabet.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPhF...
CC: @amnesty.org @frontlinedefenders.bsky.social @ifex.org
27.02.2026 11:33 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
On #WorldNGODay, we celebrate NGOs advancing human rights and accountability. Their voices must be heard at the UN.
We’ve signed a joint NGO letter urging ECOSOC Member States to back candidates who protect civil society access.
www.pen-international.org/news/interna...
#OpenTheDoors2NGOs
#China #HongKong: A Hong Kong court has overturned the 2022 fraud conviction for #JimmyLai. However, he remains imprisoned under the National Security Law. We reiterate our call for his immediate and unconditional release.
Read our full update ⬇️
www.pen-international.org/news/china-h...
A PEN International display at the Africa Media Festival features empty chairs on a stage, each holding a portrait of an Eritrean journalist imprisoned since 2001, symbolising their absence and calling for justice and accountability.
For over two decades, 12 Eritrean journalists have been held without charge, without trial, without contact. Today at the Africa Media Festival, with @pressfreedom.bsky.social, we bring this urgent conversation to the stage.
Learn about each case: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...
#Belarus: We condemn the labelling of @penbelarus.bsky.social digital platform as ‘extremist materials’ and reiterate our full solidarity with colleagues in their quest to promote and protect Belarusian culture, language, and identity.
penbelarus.org/en/
On the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we honour voices that bear witness. At the PEN Congress in Kraków, Volodymyr Yermolenko, President of PEN Ukraine, spoke with @smohyeddin.bsky.social on literature’s role in documenting loss.
▶️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDL5...
Today’s poem from @pen-tlrc.bsky.social is in Arpitan (Franco-Provençal), a Romance language spoken around Mont Blanc in Italy, western Switzerland, and southeastern France.
Though officially recognised, it remains endangered.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJjy...
#Ukraine: Four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, families continue to protect their children under constant threat.
Read Walls of Life, by PEN Ukraine President Volodymyr Yermolenko ⬇️
www.pen-international.org/news/volodym...
#Türkiye: PEN International Board Member Ege Dündar speaks with Die Zeit on the arrest of DW correspondent Alican Uludağ and the authorities’ weaponization of the justice system to silence independent views. Interview conducted in German language. @ege-dundar.bsky.social www.zeit.de/politik/2026...
23.02.2026 15:38 — 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
#UK: We join @indexoncensorship.org and others in urging the UK government to ensure the BBC World Service has the funding it needs to continue its vital work across the globe. Read our joint letter 🔽 www.pen-international.org/news/open-le...
23.02.2026 13:56 — 👍 8 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
#Belarus: 1435 instances of human rights violations against cultural figures documented by @penbelarus.bsky.social in 2025. We continue to urge accountability and unfettered support for Belarusian culture. Read and share widely: penbelarus.org/en/2026/02/1...
23.02.2026 10:32 — 👍 6 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 1
Today’s poem from @pen-tlrc.bsky.social, Waytson sho'war – La eterna realidad, read by Keyuk Yantén. After 10,000 years in Tierra del Fuego, the Selk'nam were nearly exterminated. Today, a small group led by Yantén is revitalising the language.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXI9...
On International Mother Language Day, we launch the @pen-tlrc.bsky.social 6th Video-Poem Marathon with Kalaallisut, Greenland’s official and most widely spoken language since 2009.
Return for a new poem each day.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-ga...
#MotherLanguageDay #TLRCMarathon
From tomorrow, we’ll share poems celebrating Indigenous and Minoritised languages worldwide as @pen-tlrc.bsky.social launches its 6th Video-Poem Marathon for International Mother Language Day.
Explore last year’s video-poems: www.pen-international.org/tlrc
#MotherLanguageDay #TLRCMarathon
#Venezuela: We have been informed of, and welcomes the release of journalist Leocenis Manuel García Osorio. He should never have been imprisoned. We urge Venezuelan authorities to free all journalists still unjustly detained.
@penamericas.bsky.social www.pen-international.org/news/venezue...
Malaysia-Thailand: Criminal defamation charges against writer #MurrayHunter have been withdrawn in Thailand following a settlement with Malaysia’s MCMC. His passport has been returned and his Substack restored. ‘I have the freedom to write again'. www.pen-international.org/news/malaysi...
16.02.2026 13:35 — 👍 5 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
#Guatemala: PEN International welcomes the ruling granting house arrest to journalist José Rubén Zamora, arbitrarily detained since July 2022. We urge authorities to immediately drop all charges and end judicial harassment against him.
Full statement ⬇️
www.pen-international.org/news/guatema...
#UK: Today, the High Court ruled that the proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful.
Read our previous joint statement with @englishpen.bsky.social ⬇️
www.pen-international.org/news/united-...
CC: @rsf-es.bsky.social @amnistiaamericas.bsky.social
12.02.2026 17:16 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
#Guatemala: Journalist #JoseRubénZamora has now spent 1,295 days in arbitrary detention.
Today, the Second Court has the opportunity to deliver justice and allow him to face the spurious charges against him in freedom.
"The fear, chaos, and violence that ICE is perpetrating doesn’t only have a local impact through arrests, deportations, and disruptions to community life. The deployment of this paramilitary force... is (also) having an impact on the American artistic and cultural landscape" pen.org/ice-threat-t....
22.01.2026 22:00 — 👍 31 🔁 12 💬 1 📌 0
