PEN America

By banning authors as renowned as Plato, Texas A&M has staked out turf as the epicenter of higher educational censorship. Resistance can sometimes feel futile — but as @jennyboylan.bsky.social says here, we must stand up for Aggies’ freedom to read, write, and learn.

Text image with a quote from Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director, Writers at Risk, expressing concern about writers and dissidents in Iran's prisons. Emphasizes prioritizing civilian lives. Mentions PEN America and directs to pen.org for the full statement.

Amid ongoing military strikes and conflict in Iran, PEN America and @pensydney.bsky.social condemn the escalating and urgent threats to detained writers, including poet and translator Ali Asadollahi, as well as other political prisoners jailed in the country. Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...

Prison for Poetry: Eight Years Behind Bars for Satire in Egypt Galal El-Behairy’s case is, unfortunately, just one example of the human cost of silencing dissent in Egypt.

Despite finishing his prison sentence, El-Behairy, a poet and PEN/Barbey #FreedomToWrite Awardee, remains trapped in indefinite pretrial detention, with no end in sight.

Egypt must immediately and unconditionally pardon and release El-Behairy. Read more at pen.org/prison-for-p...

Eight years ago, Galal El-Behairy, once called “the poet of Egyptian universities” was arrested for writing the satirical song “Balaha,” which went viral for its clever lyrics mocking Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

He is still detained today. Share his poetry to show he is not forgotten.

China: PEN International condemns the sentencing of writer and PEN member Zan Aizong to three years in prison  — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide ‘The imprisonment of Zan Aizong for peacefully commemorating the life of Liu Xiaobo underscores China’s continued use of vague criminal charges to silence independent writers and erase collective memo...

#China: Writer and PEN member Zan Aizong has been sentenced to three years in prison after taking part in a peaceful memorial for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo.

PEN International calls for his immediate and unconditional release. Full statement ⬇️

www.pen-international.org/news/china-p...

“On Erasing History,” a Conversation With Jason Stanley and Nikole Hannah-Jones, Thurs., March 26 7 pm NYC On Thursday, March 26, PEN America & Liz’s Book Bar will bring together two leading voices to discuss authoritarianism and censorship by the Trump administration against schools and universities, scie...

March 26 in Brooklyn: PEN America & Liz’s Book Bar will bring together NYT bestselling authors Jason Stanley and Nikole Hannah-Jones to discuss authoritarianism, censorship and Stanley’s Erasing History https://pen.org/press-release/on-erasing-history-conversation-jason-stanley-nikole-hannah-jones/

Text image with a black background and red borders. The quote reads: "[H.R. 7661 is] an overt, intentional dog whistle to individuals that believe that trans and LGBTQ+ students have no place in public schools, and their stories do not belong in classroom libraries." This is attributed to Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read Director, in School Library Journal. Below the text is the PEN America logo

People need to mobilize now against H.R. 7661, PEN America's Kasey Meehan tells @slj.com.

That means, “putting pressure on their elected leaders, different committees that are going to review it, to really call out the harm and the absurdity of this bill.” www.slj.com/story/Anti-C...

‘We Couldn’t Say the Title’: Darcie Little Badger on the Words Banned at a Utah University When a Utah university gave author Darcie Little Badger a list of words she couldn’t say, she was stunned.

‘We Couldn’t Say the Title’: @littlebadger.bsky.social on the Words Banned at a Utah University pen.org/darcie-littl...

From the censorship of Plato to the elimination of the Women’s and Gender Studies program, academic freedom is under attack at Texas A&M. But students are fighting back — and that’s enough to give author Sandra Cisneros hope.

Virtual Read-In 3/10 by Celebrated Children's Authors to Support Minneapolis Youth PEN America, in partnership with Just Us Book and Penguin Random House, will join a lineup of celebrated children's book authors on Tues., March 10, for a live reading at 11:00 am ET/ 10:00 am CT of excerpts from the anthology, We Rise, We Resist, We R...

Celebrated children’s authors will participate in a virtual read-in to support Minneapolis youth on March 10 https://pen.org/press-release/virtual-read-in-3-10-by-celebrated-childrens-authors-to-support-minneapolis-youth/

Belarus: Statement on the systematic confiscation and destruction of manuscripts by prison authorities – PEN Belarus In Belarus, prison authorities systematically confiscate and destroy the literary manuscripts and letters of those imprisoned on politically motivated grounds. Their aim is not only to silence individ...

March 3 – World Writers’ Day.
On this day, we want to draw attention to the systematic practice of confiscating and destroying the literary manuscripts and letters of those imprisoned on politically motivated grounds.

❤️‍🩹 Share our statement!

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.

A group of people at a protest holds signs. Below, text reads: "Students Could Face Harsh Penalties for Protests as Campuses, States Tighten Restrictions. Read the full blog on pen.org."

The image is a text quote from Kristen Shahverdian, Director of Campus Free Speech at PEN America. The quote discusses the theme of anxiety and fear in the academic year, mentioning high-profile arrests and a crackdown on expression, leading to concerns about exercising constitutional free speech rights.

A new Texas law restricting protests on college campuses means that "the theme of this academic year is anxiety and fear,” says Kristen Shahverdian, program director of campus free speech at PEN America. Learn more at: https://pen.org/harsh-penalties-for-protests-on-campus/

YouTube video by Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee of PI Hola Gomado: Dzigbɔɖi - La patience (Éwé) - PEN Togo

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...

Snapshots of Censorship Archives Newspaper headlines bring waves of stories about the censorship of research and teaching in higher education, whether by state legislation, federal action, or campus overcompliance. What is often lost are the impacts on faculty, who are being silenced,...

Read our new addition to the Snapshots of Censorship series written by Dr. Leonard Bright. “When academic freedom is attacked…all of our students suffer.” https://pen.org/blog-series/snapshots-of-censorship/

The Chinese Writer Imprisoned for Dreaming of a Beautiful China Xu Zhiyong's essays from A Beautiful China, which he wrote as a love letter to his country, were used as evidence against him.

Today, Chinese writer Xu Zhiyong is marking his 7th birthday behind bars.

In January, his mother died, and he was denied the right to say goodbye.

Our birthday wish for him is being able to speak to, and finally mourn with, his family and loved ones.

Read more → pen.org/imprisoned-f...

ACTION ALERT: Massachusetts readers, ask your legislators to protect the freedom to read by supporting H.3594, An Act Regarding Free Expression. This bill would strengthen protections for libraries & students’ right to read. Send a message today: https://act.pen.org/a/mass-action-alert-h3594

Photo of author Senaa Ahmad next to the cover of her book "The Age of Calamities." A quote about writing short fiction is displayed, ending with "I like to hold my breath as I'm writing a story." The text mentions an interview with Ahmad and includes the Pen America logo.

In our new PEN Ten, Senaa Ahmad discusses The Age of Calamities (@henryholtbooks.bsky.social, 2026), her debut collection of zany stories (one of which features a dinner party with John Adams, Marilyn Monroe, and Nefertiti in attendance). Read more: https://pen.org/senaa-ahmad-the-pen-ten-interview/

Black Americans have "always had to use the power of imagination to imagine a better possibility," says DJ Johnson, proprietor of Baldwin and Co., a black-owned independent bookstore in New Orleans. The bookstore's mission, Johnson tells us, is to use the power of books to inspire social justice.

Censorship is running rampant at Texas A&M, but PEN America won’t let academic freedom go down without a fight. We recently led a delegation of authors, including Gloria Browne-Marshall, to campus to urge the university to restore its commitment to open inquiry.

PEN Belarus PEN Belarus

#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/

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...

Conservative-leaning civic centers now teach courses at public colleges A growing number of Republican legislators are using their power in the name of intellectual diversity to get right-leaning professors in front of all students, at conservative-leaning civic centers.

Right-leaning civic centers are burgeoning at universities across America, often championed by Republican lawmakers. “It’s basically setting up political loyalty for tenure,” asserts Assoc. Professor Ashley Hope Pérez: https://hechingerreport.org/conservative-leaning-civic-centers-public-colleges/

Student Press Freedom Day Join the Student Press Law Center and the student journalism community as we fight for press freedom!

We are proud to partner with @splc.org for #StudentPressFreedom Day. Join PEN America today in celebrating student journalists’ resilience in action and standing up for their First Amendment rights:
studentpressfreedom.org

Comedy writer and bestselling "Buffalo Fluffalo" author @bessbell.bsky.social testified before the House Judiciary Committee for a panel on threats to free expression under the Trump Administration.

If you've had "enuffalo" of censorship, help us fight book bans at pen.org/action

Tell Texas A & M Regents to End Censorship Join me in adding your name to a letter to the Board of Regents asking them to end policies that threaten academic freedom!

Join George Packer and PEN America in sending a strong message in defense of academic freedom to the Texas A&M Board of Regents. Add your name to our letter in defense of students' freedom to learn: act.pen.org/a/end-academ...

PEN America recently brought a delegation of writers, including The Atlantic journalist George Packer, down to Texas A&M, where academic freedom has been curtailed. Here’s Packer explaining why they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to support Aggies’ right to learn.

Over 100 writers urge the release of poet and translator Ali Asadollahi alongside other writers jailed in Iran.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/margaret-atwood-ali-asadollahi-iran-prison-protests-poet-b2927506.html

Open Letter from Writers Urging Release of Iranian Poet We join together to strongly condemn Ali Asadollahi’s arrest and stand in solidarity with him and with other writers.

Asadollahi is currently detained in Iran’s Evin prison, where he is routinely being interrogated, pressured to make a forced confession, and denied access to a lawyer. Today marks one month since his arrest on January 24. Read more: pen.org/urging-relea...

PEN America Joined by More than 100 Writers in Urging Release of Iranian Poet "As Ali Asadollahi marks one month behind bars, his detention is an urgent issue that must not be forgotten."

Asadollahi, a noted poet, translator, and writer who is also a member of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA), has published six poetry collections. His publishers also signed the letter, including Hypertext Magazine, Sky Island Journal, and Bellingham Review. pen.org/press-releas...