Activism doesn't end with the art, said author @maggietokudahall.bsky.social at this year's PEN America Annual General Meeting. "I really wish that were how it worked. But... this nation is a group project and we each have homework to do." Read more: pen.org/2025-annual-... @authorsabb.bsky.social

In conversation with PEN America, Ben Folds talked about his decision to step down from the Kennedy Center, art as activism, and why he doesn’t believe in writer’s block. Read the full interview at: https://pen.org/ben-folds-interview/ #benfolds #kennedycenter

From biting into ginger root to playing pick-up basketball games, 10 authors featured in our #PENTen Interview Series in 2025 tell us what habits they maintain and what items they carry with them when traveling to support their writing practice: pen.org/what-do-auth...

The latest federal program to fall victim to the Trump Administration’s war on words is the early learning program Head Start, where one director received a list of 197 words and phrases titled “Words to limit or avoid in government documents.” https://pen.org/head-start-programs-banned-words/

PEN America: Cancellation of 60 Minutes segment—reportedly because the Trump administration refused to be interviewed—represents an abandonment of "central principles of press freedom and independent news gathering." Full statement: pen.org/press-releas... #60Minutes #Journalism #FreePress

Spanning fiction, poetry, essay, translation, and more, the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards Longlists are juried by panels of esteemed, award-winning authors, editors, translators, and critics. See — and shop — the longlisted titles at: bookshop.org/lists/2026-p... #PENLitAwards #PENLitAwards

So many books. So little time. If you need any help adding to your "to-read" or "last-minute-gift" lists, here are a few of the books our staff just couldn’t put down this year: https://pen.org/best-books-of-2025-pen-america-staff-picks/

For the launch of Kronika, a digital platform that aims to preserve independent media, four journalists — Pethő, M. Gessen, Ramón Zamora, and Sevgi Akarçeşme — discussed their experiences witnessing the rise of authoritarian regimes. Read more here: pen.org/lessons-for-...

PEN America’s Snapshots of Censorship illustrate the personal impact that state and federal censorship has on individual scholars. Read these stories, and others, at: https://pen.org/blog-series/snapshots-of-censorship/

PEN America Reveals Literary Award Longlists https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/pen-america-reveals-literary-award-longlists-1/

Award-winning author George M. Johnson joined us to urge New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Freedom to Read Act. Join us in calling for crucial safeguards against book censorship at: https://act.pen.org/a/ny-freedom-to-read/ #bannedbooks #censorship #freedomtoread

PEN/Barbey #FreedomToWrite Awardee Narges Mohammadi is still unjustly detained a week after her violent arrest in Iran. We demand the Iranian government release her and others jailed for their expression, and allow access to lawyers and medical care. pen.org/press-releas...

The Bills Igniting Book Bans In this policy brief, we describe the evolving ways in which state laws are propelling book bans at the local level and the impact they are having on schools and students: https://pen.org/report/the-bills-igniting-book-bans/

We stand with PEN International in strongly condemning the arbitrary, violent arrest and detention of writer, human rights defender, and Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi on 12 December and calls for her immediate and unconditional release.

ALA, @bookriot.bsky.social, @penamerica.bsky.social, @flfreedomread.bsky.social, @txfreedomread.bsky.social all track different aspects of the movement - no matter how you look at it, book bans are sweeping across the country. Don't miss our joint report: https://bit.ly/4qkTZh5

Congratulations to all of the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards nominees! With a list that includes biography, poetry, translation, science writing, and more, this year’s longlist has something for every reader. Join us in celebrating this year’s nominees, see here: pen.org/announcing-t...

On Law of the Land, PEN International President Burhan Sonmez spoke with Gloria Browne-Marshall about the urgent work defending persecuted writers and how to support through our auction, ending tomorrow. 🎙️ Full interview: wbai.org/archive/prog... 📣 Make a bid: www.jumblebee.co.uk/pen-internat...

PEN America's newly elected president Dinaw Mengestu reflects on the organization’s role within a global network of writers standing against repression and censorship — and on the work of upholding a culture where every voice can be heard. Read our new interview at: pen.org/dinaw-menges...

2025 Book Censorship Wrapped: Trends, Challenges, & Successes Over The Year. Dive into this groundbreaking collaborative piece from @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social, @penamerica.bsky.social, @bookriot.bsky.social, @txfreedomread.bsky.social, and @flfreedomread.bsky.social bookriot.com/book-censors...

The critically acclaimed novelist Dinaw Mengestu has been elected to the presidency of PEN America, the 103-year-old writers organization whose mission is to celebrate literature and defend freedom of expression. More: pen.org/press-releas...

PEN America Elects New President at Fraught Time for Free Speech The novelist Dinaw Mengestu will lead the literary group at a time of escalating threats to free expression at home and abroad. Read more (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/a...

Tennessee whistleblower says library board chair sought private data as part of state's book purge www.advocate.com/news/tenness...

At a recent PEN Out Loud event at the Strand Bookstore, critically acclaimed author Kiran Desai told Razia Iqbal why she thinks the heart of her third novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, lies in its peripheral characters. Learn why here: https://pen.org/kiran-desai-third-novel/

Can’t believe @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social beat me out….🫤 (kidding. This is the award no one wants to win.)

John Green, Jodi Picoult Top PEN America's Banned Books List www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Bestselling author John Green's "Looking for Alaska" is the most frequently banned book since PEN America began counting in 2021. In a new interview, he tells us the dubious honor is both "strange" and "surreal." Read the full interview at: https://pen.org/john-green-interview/

Since we began tallying school book bans in 2021, thousands of books have been targeted repeatedly – as many as 147X for @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social’s Looking for Alaska and 142 for @jodipicoult.bsky.social’s Nineteen Minutes. These Are The Top 52 Banned Books Since 2021: pen.org/top-52-banne...

#Iran: PEN International condemns the violent and arbitrary arrest of Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi on 12 December. We are gravely concerned for her health and safety and call for her immediate and unconditional release. Read our statement ⬇️ www.pen-international.org/news/iran-au...

President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the BBC, which seeks an extraordinary $10 billion, represents a coercive ploy to globalize his domestic threats to a free and independent press and to chill reporting overseas, says PEN America. Full statement: pen.org/press-releas...

We are relieved that several writers in Belarus, including PEN members Ales Bialiatski and Maksim Znak, have been released from prison. They should never have been jailed in the first place and endured years of unjust confinement in a penal colony.

We condemn the conviction of Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai. He now faces possible life in prison. The international community, including the US, must stand up for independent media and continue pressing for Lai’s release. #FreeJimmyLai bsky.app/profile/peni...

A North Carolina county’s library board was dissolved over a disagreement about having a picture book about a trans boy remain on shelves. “It’s a pretty dramatic response to wanting to have diverse and inclusive books on shelves,” says PEN America's Kasey Meehan. (gift link) wapo.st/4scLc2u

The winter holidays are here, and PEN America is ready to celebrate them in our favorite way — curled up with a good book! But this year — as our holiday season Banned Books Reading List shows — even heartwarming holiday tales aren't safe from bans: bookshop.org/lists/happy-...

In our new PEN Ten interview, María Auxiliadora Álvarez talks about her poetry collection, A Sun Behind Us / Un sol caído avanza (Akashic Books, 2025), which commemorates her late father and the love they shared for each other. Read more: pen.org/maria-auxili...

#HongKong: With Jimmy Lai's national security trial verdict now expected on Monday, we again urge the authorities to end this injustice by dropping all charges against him and to release him immediately. Read our latest statement 🔽 www.pen-international.org/news/china-h...

Today, after a year of conditional freedom, Narges Mohammadi—an activist, writer, Nobel Peace Laureate, and PEN/Barbey #FreedomToWrite Awardee—was re-arrested by Iranian authorities. Mohammadi was attempting to speak at a memorial for murdered human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

Four years ago, Vietnamese writer and #FreedomToWrite Awardee Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to nine years in prison for her writings on human rights and democracy. Her imprisonment is more than an attack on one writer—securing her release is a global priority for free expression.

"A brutal assault on freedom of speech": PEN America responds to the Trump administration’s proposal to require tourists from 42 countries to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection their social media posts from the last five years: pen.org/press-releas...

A new digital platform is being established to preserve the archives of news outlets that have been shut down or are facing extinction in authoritarian countries. The platform, a joint project of PEN America and Bard College, is called Kronika apnews.com/article/cens...

In a new interview, award-winning author Bill Konigsberg explains why the books he writes — as well as other literature that tackles sex and sexuality — can be a “hugely valuable” resource for LGBTQ+ teens. Read here: https://pen.org/bill-konigsberg-interview/

PEN America mourns the passing of bestselling author Madeleine Wickham, better known by her pen name, Sophie Kinsella. She told the Boston Herald in 2004, "My first aim is to make people laugh." Across 30+ books translated into over 40 languages, she most certainly did. www.npr.org/2025/12/10/n...

Almost closed! The last day to apply for the 2026 DREAMing Out Loud Workshop is December 17. Details here: https://pen.org/fellowships/dreaming-out-loud/

Today, PEN America has launched the Snapshots of Censorship, personal stories of educational censorship from scholars across the country. Read more about the impact of censorship here: https://pen.org/blog-series/snapshots-of-censorship/

Award-winning author George M. Johnson was among those who braved below-freezing temperatures in NYC's Union Square Monday to call on Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the Freedom to Read Act. Read more at: https://pen.org/urge-hochul-sign-freedom-to-read-act/

At a time of widespread war and growing authoritarianism, our Writers for Peace Committee insists that peace requires action and solidarity. Read the full statement: www.pen-international.org/news/human-r...

On #HumanRightsDay, PEN International launches its first global #LiteraryAuction — featuring rare contributions from leading writers, with all proceeds supporting freedom of expression worldwide. Explore the auction: www.pen-international.org/news/literar...

In this week’s PEN Ten interview, Booker Prize-winning author Kiran Desai describes what it was like to work on her third novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (Hogarth Books, 2025), for nearly 20 years. Read here: pen.org/kiran-desai-...

PEN America and @bardcollege.bsky.social announce the launch of Kronika, a new digital platform designed to safeguard journalism globally and ensure that the historical record cannot be obliterated by censorship. More: pen.org/press-releas...

New guidelines at Texas Tech with rules for teaching about race and gender raise concerns that the university could turn "into a megaphone for the government," PEN America's Laura Benitez tells WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/texas-tech-college-curriculum-flowchart-race-gender-7888880f

Firing a professor for protesting is unacceptable. Colleges and universities should embrace free speech, not trample on it. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/tenured-professor-fired-pro-palestinian-protests?CMP=share_btn_url