EVENT: PEN International and Polish PEN open the 91st Congress in Kraków with Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk and PEN President Burhan Sonmez. 🎟 Reserve your seat: kbfbilety.krakow.pl/kup-bilet/ur... 📍 Kino Kijów, Kraków 🗓 Tuesday 2 September 🕠 17:30–19:00 CEST

At the African Book Fair in Nairobi, writers and advocates came together to celebrate literary freedom. Thank you to Soma Nami Books for hosting Nduko o’Matigere, Natasha Omokhodion, and Dr. Njuki Githethwa for a vital panel discussion on censorship and expression.

Can literature survive repression? Join us to explore this question at our public event: PEN in the Age of Anxiety, part of PEN International’s 91st Annual Congress. kbfbilety.krakow.pl/kup-bilet/pe... 🗓 3 SEP | 20:00 CEST 📍 International Cultural Centre, Kraków #PENCongress25

#Belarus: Writer & journalist Andrzej Poczobut is serving 8 years on fabricated charges. Since 2021 he’s faced solitary confinement & denial of medication. PEN International calls for his immediate release. #EmptyChair #FreePoczobut #Congress25

#Algeria: Slam poet Mohamed Tadjadit, “The Poet of the Hirak,” was sentenced to 5 years in Jan 2025—just 4 days after arrest—for online criticism of the govt. He now faces further charges in October. PEN International calls for his release. #EmptyChair #FreedomofWords #WordsoftheFree #Congress25

#Venezuela: Journalist Rory Branker was disappeared in Caracas (Feb 2025) after reporting for La Patilla. Accused without due process of “spreading false info,” his whereabouts remain unknown. PEN International calls for his release. #EmptyChair #FreeBranker #FreedomofWords #Congress25

#Ukraine: Citizen journalist & HRD Iryna Danylovych was abducted in Crimea in 2022 & sentenced to 7 years on fabricated charges. She’s faced torture & denied medical care, causing permanent hearing loss. PEN International calls for her immediate release. #EmptyChair #Congress25

LIVE: At PEN International’s 91st Congress, President Burhan Sonmez reflects: the 20th century brought unbearable pains, and yet a quarter into the 21st, bombs, poverty and oppression still echo across continents.

LIVE: Burhan Sonmez, International President, speaks from the PEN International 91st Annual Congress on the origins of the word freedom. This year’s Congress is a gathering of hope uniting writers and advocates of freedom of expression worldwide.

We're attending the opening of @peninternational.bsky.social 91st congress in #Krakow. Excellent hosting by tireless friends at Polish PEN Club. Inspiring words by Margaret Atwood, and with PEN International President Burhan Sönmez and Nobel Laureate Olga Tokarczuk. Love, peace, and solidarity. ❤️🕊✊️

LIVE: Burhan Sonmez, International President, speaks from the PEN International 91st Annual Congress on the origins of the word freedom. This year’s Congress is a gathering of hope uniting writers and advocates of freedom of expression worldwide.

LIVE: Memory, Migration and Myth in Contemporary Fiction Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk joins the PEN International President to reflect on the power of writing to courageously confront authority and wield the pen as a sword.

We regret to announce that Andrey Kurkov will not be able to attend this event. He will be replaced by Marek Radziwon, President of Polish PEN Club and Consul General in Lviv, and Pavlo Bylik, Ukrainian poet. kbfbilety.krakow.pl/kup-bilet/wo... #PENCongress25 #FreedomOfWords #WordsOfTheFree

Today, PEN International President Burhan Sonmez reaffirmed our association’s commitment to writers everywhere. Built on the defence of free expression, PEN International continues to stand firm against threats that silence voices around the world.

In his address to the assembly today, Burhan Sonmez also called for peace and an end to the suffering of civilians, reminding our Centres that the mission of PEN is rooted in solidarity across borders.

At our 91st Congress, we mark 100 years of the Polish PEN Club, founded in 1925 with Stefan Żeromski as its first president. Today in Krakow, we celebrate this legacy with the Polish Centenary Exhibition, part of PEN’s global story.

On our final day at Congress, we came together for powerful conversations on the freedom to publish, cultural erasure, and centering Indigenous literature and culture in global conversations. Thank you to all who shared their voices. Stay tuned for photos and videos in the coming weeks.

🎉 Congratulations! Delegates at PEN’s 91st Congress voted with overwhelming support to welcome new Centres: 🟥 PEN Languages of Russia 🟥 PEN Syria 🟥 The Low German & Frisian PEN 🟥 PEN Spain We look forward to their contributions as they bring their voices into our global network!

We’re thrilled to welcome Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for Literature, as Vice President of PEN International, our network’s secretariat. Congratulations!

We're honored to have joined PEN colleagues from around the world for powerful conversations. As #Congress25 comes to a close, we are grateful to PEN International and Polish PEN for bringing together writers to discuss literature, free expression, and solidarity.

Muy agradecido por esta bella invitación. Un honor para mí el haber participado. Comparto el video de lo que fuera este reciente encuentro organizado por #PENChile, #PENParaguay, #PENArgentina y #PENUruguay youtu.be/uPjeI9i-tMg?...

Across sub-Saharan Africa, freedom of expression is under attack. From Sudan to Eswatini, voices are jailed, silenced, or forced into exile. PEN International stands with them, but we can’t do it alone. Help us take Persecution to Protection: www.justgiving.com/campaign/sum...

Totalmente recomendada. www.linkedin.com/posts/thehea...

Muy agradecido por esta bella invitación de Pablo Soto a conversar en su #PodcastDelPoeta, les comparto lo que fue en el link a continuación. open.spotify.com/episode/0rZc...

#EU: We join Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and partners in urging the #EU to issue an effective and bold response to the Erdoğan government’s major blow to the rule of law and human rights in #Türkiye. Read our statement: www.pen-international.org/news/eu-open...

Chine : des organisations de défense de la liberté de presse condamnent la détention arbitraire depuis 2020 de la journaliste Zhang Zhan penquebec.org/2025/06/07/c...

#Egypt: We call on the Egyptian government to release all arbitrarily detained writers and end its crackdown on free expression. We are particularly concerned about the detention of Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Galal El-Behairy and Ashraf Omar. www.pen-international.org/news/pen-int... @penmena.bsky.social

Last week, we’ve issued a new statement on Gaza, condemning the ongoing genocide and calling for an #armsembargonow. Find out more ➡️ www.pen-international.org/news/optisra... @penmena.bsky.social

Ayi Renaud Dossavi, Acting Chair of PEN International’s new Young Writers Committee, shares what this milestone means for young writers, creatives, and activists around the world. More voices shaping this new chapter to come — stay tuned.

Along with a rise in book bans, we've seen an increase in the harassment of authors, particularly targeting YA and children’s book authors, authors of color, and LGBTQ+ authors, as well as the bookstores that carry their books. Some steps to take to enhance safety at events: pen.org/as-threats-a...

Conversa amb Carles Torner sobre la tasca del PEN Català i el PEN Internacional a través del seu Comitè d'Escriptors i Escriptores per la Pau.  El PEN Internacional va néixer com a resposta de la Primera Guerra Mundial, unint a escriptors d'arreu del món.

PEN International is deeply concerned by Laila Soueif’s critical health on Day 243 of her hunger strike for her son, Alaa Abd el-Fattah. We urge the UK government to act now to secure his immediate release. #FreeAlaa

PEN America stands with LGBTQ+ writers and readers as we promote and celebrate LGBTQ+ stories throughout and beyond #PrideMonth: bookshop.org/lists/pride-...

🗣️ El dret a la llengua Demà us esperem a València per reflexionar sobre els drets lingüístics amb una mirada de futur. 🕖 19 h 📍 Octubre CCC Amb Vicenta Tasa, @laurahuerga.bsky.social, Anna Oliver d'Acció Cultural País Valencià i @davidminoves.bsky.social del CIEMEN.

Divendres vam celebrar la presentació en societat del nou Comitè d’Escriptors i Escriptores per la Pau del PEN Català. La paraula es va alçar com a espai de resistència, diàleg i drets humans. Crònica de Miquel Rodrigo Ubach a @nuvolpuntcom.bsky.social: 🔗 www.nuvol.com/llibres/el-p...

Muy contento y agradecido por este comentario de la escritora #NoraStrejilevich que escribiera y presentara en la Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires para la presentación de mi nuevo libro #DeAmoryTravesía y que hoy publica el diario #ElMostrador l1nq.com/sUCsy

If you are in NYC tomorrow, join us at @penamerica.bsky.social to discuss how authoritarian governments suppress the media and how writers push back. Americans, don’t be depressed, things are much worse in some other countries and people there are still fighting! worldvoices.pen.org/event/25-med...

Mañana, en Día Mundial de la Libertad de Prensa, apoyaremos al periodista cubano José Gabriel Barrenechea, injustamente detenido. Únete a nosotros para exigir su liberación. #WPFD25 #DiaMundialDeLaLibertadDePrensa #JoseGabrielBarrenechea www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...

Over 100 years ago, PEN was founded on a vision to connect young writers. Today, that dream lives on through @youngwriterspen.bsky.social, uniting voices from 58 countries. Ege Dündar shares how young creatives are building global solidarity. 🔗 www.pen-international.org/committee-ne...

Tomorrow, on World Press Freedom Day, we will stand with José Gabriel Barrenechea. As PEN International President Burhan Sonmez reminds us, we must act to defend those who risk everything to speak the truth. Join us in calling for his release: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign... #WPFD25

Ukraine/Russian Federation: Investigate torture and death in custody of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna  — PEN International | Promoting Literature & Defending Freedom of Expression Worldwide www.pen-international.org/news/ukraine...

Muy contento con este nuevo libro

PEN Canada is deeply concerned by CTV’s abrupt cancellation of a planned election misinformation segment, following what appears to be pressure from online harassment. Our statement today: buff.ly/Hrm6vps 🧵

Plus, don't miss out on a special panel with the filmmakers and members of the PEN Canada Writers in Exile. 📅 Monday April 28th at 10 am 📍 TIFF Lightbox 🎟️ FREE — save your seat here: buff.ly/1FQTDXM

#AUSTRALIA 📢 In 2024, Dr. Yang Hengjun, an Australian citizen, was given a suspended death sentence by the People’s Republic of China Australians, contact your local MP and ask what they’re doing for Dr. Yang. The Australian government must act NOW, not after the election. #FreeDrYang

Congratulations to all the shortlisted translators!👏

PEN Belarus took part in the preparation of a report to the United Nations on Belarus’s compliance with its human rights obligations. Out of the 266 recommendations received by Belarus, 155 were accepted in some form. Of these, only 2 (1.3%) have been fully implemented, and 24 (15.5%) — partially.

Ahead of poet Mohamed Tadjadit's appeal hearing in Algeria tomorrow, we renew our calls with @atriskartists.bsky.social for his immediate and unconditional release from prison. bsky.app/profile/pena...

#Vietnam: We are gravely concerned over reports of the death in custody of Tibetan writer and educator, Humkar Dorje Rinpoche. PEN International joins PEN #Tibet and PEN Vietnam in calling for a transparent investigation. Read our joint statement⬇️ www.pen-international.org/news/vietnam...

We’re delighted to announce that award-winning novelist Kamila Shamsie will deliver the 2025 #PENLecture in partnership with @newwritingnorth.bsky.social & @nclanews.bsky.social. Join us at 6pm on 19 June, at Culture Lab, Newcastle University. Book now ⤵️ www.englishpen.org/posts/events...