The Prison and Justice Writing Program is pleased to announce the publication of “Other Things Unspoken,” the seventh edition in the PEN Prison Writing Awards Anthology Series!

Afroman, rapper and singer, won an important civil liberties case in Ohio last week. Seven police officers sued him for defamation after he made an album with music videos using surveillance footage from their raid of his house.

"Today’s book banning phenomenon,” explained PEN America's Sabrina Baeta, “is the result of a well-funded campaign to dismantle public education, backed by a coordinated network of groups that largely espouse white supremacist and Christian nationalist ideology" womensmediacenter.com/news-feature...

June 13 we’re holding a Library Art and Propaganda Fair It’s an all-ages artistic celebration of free, open access to information and this vital third space that welcomes everyone. Think a fan convention of the good old-fashioned public library. Learn more about it here : bit.ly/library-propos

PEN America welcomes the news that bookseller Pong Yat-ming and three staff members were released on bail, but condemns that these arrests—for selling books including the biography of recently imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai—happened in the first place. hongkongfp.com/2026/03/26/h...

PEN America’s 62nd Literary Awards Ceremony is on March 31 — but who selects the winners and how? For a peek inside the process, check out our interview with PEN Poetry in Translation Award judges @miriamcalleja.bsky.social, Alta L. Price, and J. Kates: pen.org/2026-poetry-... #PENLitAwards

Today they banned my book. Here’s what I want you to know: thebloggess.com/2026/03/25/t...

#Belarus: PEN members have actively campaigned for the release of Kaciaryna Andrejeva and Valeryja Kaściuhova. While we rejoice at their freedom, we condemn the authorities’ relentless campaign of repression. #FreeThemAll Read the full statement ⬇️ www.pen-international.org/news/belarus...

#WhereAreThey? In 2001, Eritrea shut down the independent press and arrested 12 writers and journalists. Nearly 25 years later, many remain imprisoned without trial. www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...

PEN America today condemned the latest press restrictions imposed by the Defense Department, days after a federal judge ruled in favor of The New York Times in determining that the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets violated the First Amendment. pen.org/press-releas...

Following a court victory reinstating hundreds of journalists at the Voice of America, four veteran VOA journalists and three press freedom organizations, inc. PEN America, have filed a lawsuit arguing the news agency is becoming a propaganda arm of the Trump administration. pen.org/voice-of-ame...

PEN America has joined a new federal lawsuit alongside Voice of America journalists to defend the editorial independence required by law at VOA. Government-backed journalism cannot become political propaganda. www.npr.org/2026/03/23/n...

TAKE ACTION: Poets like #DuannisLeónTaboada risk everything for their words. Today, you can stand with him. 💌 Take a moment to send a message of solidarity and let him know his courage is seen and honoured worldwide. www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...

The resilience to keep writing. Even in the face of relentless risks, it’s a common thread that unites women writers across continents and languages. It’s a courage most powerfully embodied by women currently behind bars.

PEN America stands with Rutherford County Library System Director Luanne James. Children and teens deserve access to diverse books that represent their identities and stories and books that introduce young people to new ideas and perspectives. www.wsmv.com/2026/03/20/r...

Poet and #FreedomToWrite Awardee Galal El-Behairy has been detained in Egypt for more than 8 years because he wrote clever lyrics to a viral song that mocked the country’s president. This #WorldPoetryDay, share El-Behairy’s story and his poetry: https://pen.org/prison-for-poetry-eight-years/

PEN America welcomes a ruling by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman that found parts of the Trump administration’s changes to the Pentagon’s press policy unconstitutional. https://pen.org/press-release/federal-judge-strikes-down-new-pentagon-press-policy-as-viewpoint-discrimination/

Student advocates in Texas are continuing to fight for free expression despite a crackdown on student speech. Read the latest edition of Conversations on the Quad in which we speak to recent graduate and Texas advocate, Autumn Lauener. pen.org/conversation...

PEN America has joined 75+ free speech experts to call on FCC chairman Brendan Carr to stop weaponizing the agency's rules to censor media coverage the President doesn't like. (1/2)

📣 We welcome reports that #ValeryjaKaściuhova is among those released from prison in #Belarus. Thank you to everyone who stood with her on #InternationalWomensDay, collective action makes a difference! www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...

Ibram X. Kendi (@ibramxk.bsky.social ) Has Received a Lot of Hate. His New Book on Authoritarianism Helped Him Realize It Was Never Personal. Read our new interview: pen.org/ibram-x-kend...

PEN America celebrates the release of Estefany Rodríguez, a journalist held by ICE in a case that raises serious press freedom concerns. We will say it again and again: reporters must be able to report without fear of government retaliation. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

PEN America's World Voices Festival returns to NY and LA April 29-May 2! Find out more about this year's sensational selection of free and paid events at: https://pen.org/festival?utm_source=social&utm_medium=org&utm_campaign=WVF2026 #PENWorldVoices #LiteraryFestival

📣 We welcome the release of journalist, writer, and poet Kaciaryna Andrejeva and many others after years behind bars in #Belarus. There must be full accountability for the violations they suffered. #FreeThemAll www.rferl.org/a/washington...

“Gaza is not an empty piece of real estate to be redesigned. It is a land inhabited by stories, faces, and history,” playwright and award-winning novelist Nahil Mohana told the Freedom to Write Center. @penamerica.bsky.social pen.org/culture-in-g...

The PEN America World Voices Festival will bring together more than 140 writers from 40+ countries to New York and Los Angeles April 29-May 2 amid mounting barriers to international exchange and escalating attacks on free expression. More: pen.org/press-releas...

“The House Education Committee’s decision to pass HR 7661 out of committee is an affront to local control of schools and another attempt to censor education by DC politicians,” said Ian Schwab, director, Government Affairs and Strategy at PEN America. pen.org/press-releas...

Book bans harm authors and their readers in surprising and insidious ways, writes @authorgracelin.bsky.social, who explains how new legislation might help stop the spread of book banning in her home state of Massachusetts. gazettenet.com/2026/03/09/g...

End censorship at Texas A&M! Tell the Texas A&M Board of Regents they must uphold the freedom to learn. Join the hundreds that have signed to send a strong message against censorship in the classroom and across Texas: https://pen.org/dont-censor-america/end-censorship-at-texas-am-university/

PEN America’s 62nd Literary Awards Ceremony is on March 31, but what does it mean to win one? How much prestige and credibility does a PEN Literary Award confer? Check out our new blog post on the PEN Open Book Award: pen.org/open-book-aw...

We welcome the news of the release of Eritrean cartoonist Biniam “Cobra” Solomon after 15 years in detention without charge. Many writers and journalists in Eritrea remain behind bars. Learn more ⬇️ www.pen-international.org/our-campaign... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

From #InternationalWomensDay until 20 March, we are raising our voices for #ValeryjaKaściuhova. Three actions you can take: ✍️ Send solidarity 📣 Ask your government to raise her case 🔁 Share her story www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...

PEN America is relieved to hear that jailed poet and translator Ali Asadollahi was temporarily released on bail in Iran on Monday after nearly two months in detention. We remain worried about possible legal proceedings against Asadollahi.

A Texas school district has banned approximately 1,500 books from its libraries, including titles by former U.S. presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, PEN America reports. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/texas-school-district-bans-books-by-us-presidents/

"Over the last several years, school libraries have become a front line in the culture wars, especially in the U.S," Ira Wells tells @elamin.bsky.social on CBC Commotion. "It's disturbing to see those culture wars being imported into our political context in Canada." www.cbc.ca/arts/commoti...

Political power in Florida "has been hardwired into the administrative structure of higher education, allowing politicians to pull the levers of ideological enforcement without needing to climb atop a social media soapbox," write Jeffrey Sachs & Amy Reid in USA Today www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Closure of UNT art show points to larger climate of fear on college campuses Last year, 32 states introduced bills that limit speech on college and university campuses. Fifteen of those states passed legislation, according to PEN America www.keranews.org/news/2026-03...

PEN America's Laura Benitez spoke to Inside Higher Ed about a Utah bill that would permit students to conscientiously object to coursework: “A professor’s choices about how to achieve the learning outcomes of the course is part of what academic freedom is” www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...

To celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth, PEN America has compiled a list of more than 30 biographies and memoirs about figures as wide-ranging as Patti Smith, Toni Morrison, Candy Darling, Yoko Ono, and Judy Blume: bookshop.org/lists/biogra...

Under revised policies at Texas A&M, the women’s and gender studies program is scheduled to shutter, hundreds of courses have been altered, and even Plato has been banned. PEN America led a delegation of writers to the university to defend Aggies’ freedom to teach and learn: pen.org/keeping-acad...

PEN America calls on Congress to "reaffirm First Amendment protections for @starsandstripes.bsky.social’ editorial independence and ensure the decades-long firewall between the Pentagon and the newsroom remains firmly intact.” pen.org/press-releas...

According to lists obtained through public information requests by the Texas Freedom to Read Project, the New Braunfels ISD, a suburban school district nestled in the Texas Hill Country, has banned 1,500 books since June 1, 2025. pen.org/1500-books-b...

When culture is a target of war, who ensures it lives on? In our latest blog, we interview PEN Ukraine members about their tireless work—restocking the shelves of damaged libraries, hosting conversations on culture, and promoting the work of Ukrainian writers. Read more: pen.org/fighting-for...

The Oscars are just around the corner, and cinephiles aren’t the only ones who should have their calendars marked. If you’re a bibliophile like us, here are the films you should be keeping an eye out for during the 98th Academy Awards ceremony: https://pen.org/6-oscar-nominated-book-movies/

As part of its work challenging book bans, PEN America asked authors how much hinges on whether public libraries carry their books. The short answer? Everything. “If my books aren’t in public libraries, they may as well not be published at all,” said @kylelukoff.bsky.social. pen.org/why-libraries/

"Murray Hill will host the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards," reports @people.com. "The Somebody Somewhere actor, 54, will host the 62nd annual PEN America Literary Awards dubbed 'the Oscars for Books,' on Tuesday, March 31 at The Town Hall in New York City." FULL STORY: people.com/murray-hill-...

A dangerous bill in Florida is heading to a final vote. The sweeping censorial power that HB 1471 would give state politicians poses a mammoth threat to students’ free expression, further erodes academic freedom in universities and colleges, and censors K-12 education. www.aclufl.org/press-releas...

“A petty act of retaliation”: PEN America strongly condemns the decision by the Department of Defense to shut out news photojournalists from two briefings on the war with Iran following “unflattering” photographs. https://pen.org/press-release/news-photographers-barred-from-pentagon-briefings/

Novelist Nahil Mohana survived life threatening injuries when a tank shell blew out the windows of her Gaza City home. For her, the reconstruction of Gaza is more than a debate about luxury resorts—it is about what will be erased, what will be preserved, and whose vision will shape Gaza’s future.

We joined a coalition demanding ICE release journalist Estefany Rodriguez, saying it's "part of a broader erosion of democratic norms and human rights... in which immigration authorities are increasingly being used to chill free expression and 1st Amendment rights." www.freepress.net/download/pre...