PEN America

Humor for Dark Times | The PEN Ten Interview with Katie Yee - PEN America In this PEN Ten interview, Katie Yee discusses her debut novel Maggie and how grief can impact one's sense of time.

In this week’s PEN Ten, @emergencychampagne.bsky.social discusses her debut novel, Maggie; Or, A Man And Woman Walk Into A Bar (Simon & Schuster, 2025), and her decision to see how much she “could (lovingly) throw” at its funny, resilient protagonist. pen.org/katie-yee-th...

CPB says it is shutting down after being defunded by Congress, targeted by Trump The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Friday it would take steps toward its own closure after being defunded by Congress — marking the end of a nearly six-decade era in which it fueled the...

Dozens of local public media outlets could now shrink or shutter entirely. This isn’t just a budget cut, but the dismantling of a civic institution that has served local communities for nearly 60 years.
www.pbs.org/newshour/pol... (3/3)

It’s the result of the administration and Congress turning their backs on large swaths of the country where public radio and TV are among the last trusted sources of local news, educational programming, and emergency information. (2/3)

The forced shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a betrayal of the millions of Americans who rely on public media and did not want it gutted by their government. (1/3)

Women in Translation Month Celebrates Literary Art of Translation As AI Looms Large - PEN America To celebrate Women in Translation Month 2025, the PEN America Translation Committee curated a reading list of 18 works by women writers and translators.

August is #WomenInTranslationMonth — and a great opportunity to reaffirm the importance of human talent in creating literary translation.

Learn more — and browse a new reading list curated by PEN America’s Translation Committee — at:
pen.org/women-in-tra...

‘There is no workaround to this moment – we are all targets’ The attacks on DEI and academic freedom show higher education needs to come together, build collaborations and stand firm. Here’s how

"DEI, academic freedom and institutional autonomy are paramount for the sector...” Mike Gavin, president of Delta College, speaks in this lucid and impassioned call for collaborative action to protect academic freedom across higher education. www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/there...

Happy birthday to #FreedomToWrite Awardee and activist Loujain Al-Hathloul.

Though released from prison in 2021, Al-Hathloul’s freedom is still restricted, and she is banned from leaving Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities must lift the unjust travel ban.

Trump’s Unesco withdrawal is part of a broader assault on democracy | Liesl Gerntholtz and Julie Trebault The US exit from the cultural heritage organization is no surprise. But it’s not too late to fight back

"Trump’s disdain for cultural preservation is part of a broader assault on human rights, democracy, free expression and artistic freedom,” write PEN America's Liesl Gerntholtz and @atriskartists.bsky.social's Julie Trébault.

Read more: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Doubling Down on Advocacy: PEN America Student Alum Charlotte Hampton Speaks Out After Arrest for Campus Reporting - PEN America The media is supposed to be our fourth check, an unofficial fourth branch of government, the clearest connector to democracy.

"Conversations on the Quad": Charlotte Hampton, editor-in-chief of @thedartmouth.bsky.social and co-founder of Teens For Press Freedom reflects on her advocacy and offers insights to other young people grappling with anxiety about the state of our democracy.

Read more at: pen.org/conversation...

For more, download the full resource list here: tinyurl.com/JANetwork (6/6)

Safety Resources for Journalists Covering Protests - PEN America PEN America is alarmed by reports that federal and local law enforcement officers used force on members of the press covering protests in LA.

You can find resources on physical safety during coverage of immigration-related protests here: pen.org/safety-resou... (5/6)

ImmigrationLawHelp.org | Helping low-income immigrants find legal help

For immigration-related legal guidance, here’s a directory of free or low-cost nonprofit legal immigration service providers: www.immigrationlawhelp.org (4/6)

Learn more about safety measures and best practices for covering immigration and protecting sources here: www.iwmf.org/wp-content/u... (3/6)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Traveling to the US - Committee to Protect Journalists A stated policy goal of the Trump administration is to significantly change travel and immigration policies in the United States. As a result of this policy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) o...

Check out this guide on security considerations for journalists crossing the U.S. border: cpj.org/2025/04/cpj-... and this guide on preparing your devices: freedom.press/digisec/blog... (2/6)

If you’re a U.S.-based journalist who is an immigrant or who covers immigration, below you’ll find resources pulled together by the U.S. Journalist Assistance Network, which PEN America is a member of. (1/6)

Joint Letter to the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S. Urging Action on the Ongoing Detention of Galal El-Behairy - PEN America Silencing a poet for his words not only stifles individual creativity but also weakens the broader human rights principles.

We demand Galal El-Behairy’s immediate release and humane treatment in custody, including access to medical care, legal counsel, and books. His ongoing detention violates Egyptian and international law. #FreeGalal #FreedomToWrite

Read the joint letter: pen.org/joint-letter...

Photo of Galal El-Behairy at a microphone with a quote from a joint letter from PEN America and 10 human rights organizations the Egyptian Ambassador to the U.S. Motaz Zahran urging him to raise our concerns about the detention of poet and PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award honoree Galal El-Behairy with relevant authorities in Cairo. The quote reads: "Silencing a poet for his words not only stifles individual creativity, but also weakens the broader human rights principles."

Today marks 4 years since poet Galal El-Behairy should have been released from prison. Despite finishing an unjust 3-year sentence for his writing in 2021, he remains unlawfully detained in Egypt.

Our joint letter urging Egypt’s Ambassador to the U.S. Motaz Zahran to act: pen.org/joint-letter...

Legal group files brief to support blocking law banning books from Iowa K-12 schools • Iowa Capital Dispatch The Iowa law banning books with depictions of sex acts is unconstitutional, PEN America advocates argued in the legal brief.

PEN America argued the law "undermines public education systems in violation of the First Amendment by denying students’ rights to receive information, infringing on authors’ free speech rights, and misapplying the obscenity doctrine." iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/07/28/l...

Voices of The Young Writers Committee — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide Meet the next generation of writers and activists speaking out on the issues that matter most. From the shrinking of civic space to highlighting freedom of expression as the bedrock of democracy, memb...

Meet the next generation speaking out for free expression.

From shrinking civic space to defending democracy, PEN International’s Young Writers Committee (@youngwriterspen.bsky.social) raises their voices with urgency and hope ⬇️

www.pen-international.org/committee-ne...

PEN Translates winners announced - News & Events - English PEN Awarding 14 titles from 10 publishers, 13 languages and 11 regions.

We’re delighted to announce that 14 titles from 10 publishers, 13 languages and 11 regions have won #PENTranslates awards – marking 400 books now supported through our programme.
www.englishpen.org/posts/news/p...

What If Social Media Filtered Abuse Like It Filters Spam? A report from PEN America and Consumer Reports urges tech companies to treat online abuse like spam, filtering harm before it reaches users.

As platforms lose diverse voices, our digital spaces become less free, less representative and less equitable.

A new report from PEN America and @consumerreports.org asks: What If Social Media Filtered Abuse Like It Filters Spam?
msmagazine.com/2025/07/23/s...

New Legal Brief Against Iowa Book Ban Law Argues that it Violates the Free Speech Rights of Students, Publishers and Authors - PEN America PEN America, the writers and free expression group that has been at the forefront nationally of documenting spreading school book bans, today filed a legal brief  in an appeal by the state of Iowa to ...

PEN America has filed a legal brief against the Iowa book ban law that led to the removal of over 3000 books “regardless of the age of the student reader or the books’ value as a whole—both of which considerations are required by the First Amendment.” pen.org/press-releas...

Harvard Educational Review’s Abrupt Cancellation of Special Issue on Palestine an Assault on Academic Freedom - PEN America In response to news that The Harvard Educational Review (HER) canceled the release of a planned special issue on education and Palestine, Kristen Shahverdian, PEN America’s program director for Campus...

PEN America: The Harvard Educational Review’s cancellation of an issue on Palestine “sends a chilling message in the context of the Trump administration’s unrelenting pressure on Harvard University and mounting political interference in higher education.” pen.org/press-releas...

‘Privilege Can Also Be a Prison’: Exploring Class and Gender in ‘My Parents’ Marriage’ - PEN America In this PEN Ten interview, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond discusses My Parents’ Marriage, which follows a disillusioned young woman in search of a new kind of love.

In this week’s PEN Ten interview, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond discusses her latest novel, My Parents’ Marriage (Amistad Books, 2025), a rich, tender exploration of the transition into early adulthood set in Ghana and New York City during the 1970s. Read more: pen.org/nana-ekua-br...

PEN: Mightier Than the Book Bans | This Way Out Radio Episode #1947 | LISTEN NOW on our website, podcasts everywhere, and community radio stations around the world. Just how far is it from book bans to bonfires? PEN America’s Los Angeles Director Allison Lee tracks the alarming censorship trend across the U.S. and how to stand up against it (interviewed by Jason ...

Just how far is it from book bans to bonfires? On the latest edition of @thiswayoutradio.bsky.social, PEN America’s Los Angeles Director Allison Lee tracks the alarming censorship trend across the U.S. and how to stand up against it (interviewed by Jason Jenn). www.thiswayout.org/post/this-wa...

PEN America Backs Bill to Limit Use of Creative Works as Criminal Evidence PEN America has joined the Free Our Art coalition in supporting the reintroduction of federal legislation that would restrict the use of artistic works—including literature and poetry—as evidence in c...

PEN America Backs Bill to Limit Use of Creative Works as Criminal Evidence www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/... via @publisherswkly.bsky.social

"Safeguard your independent media and defend your national archives," writes Anna Nemzer, who launched the Russian Independent Media Archive with fellow exiled journalists in 2023. Resist takedowns and censorship, she says, or "truth begins to disappear." thehill.com/opinion/whit...

Graphic shows the 'Top 10 Censored Books Listed By Teachers" from The State of Teacher Use in US Secondary English Classrooms' reported by NCTE, featuring book covers including 'The Bluest Eye', 'The Hate U Give', works by Sherman Alexie, and 'Gender Queer' among others, with National Council of Teachers of English and PEN America logos at the bottom.

Look familiar? These are the most censored books named by English teachers in a study funded by @ncte.org.

The study found that although most teachers value teaching diverse texts, they are often stopped from doing so.

Read more at: ncte.org/wp-content/u...

Lessons in Leadership from the University of Virginia - PEN America While University of Virginia President James Ryan may have been trying to protect the university with his resignation, by accepting it, UVA acquiesced to a brazen and vindictive demand from the Trump ...

"When universities allow their presidents to fall on their swords in an attempt to save their institution from political attacks, it’s the institution’s integrity that is sacrificed," write PEN America's Clare Carter and Amy Reid. More: pen.org/lessons-in-l...

Wave of New State Bills in 2025 Cast a Web of Control over Higher Education Lawmakers have passed a stunning wave of educational gag orders that directly censor higher ed teaching, as well as laws that target tenure and traditional faculty governance, intervene in how academi...

2025 is already a record-breaking year for higher education censorship, with more than 70 bills and policies introduced in 26 states, casting a web of state control over higher education, write PEN America's Laura Benitez, Amy Reid, and @jonfreadom.bsky.social
pen.org/with-a-wave-...