PEN America
@penamerica.bsky.social
We stand at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the U.S. and worldwide. Support and learn more at pen.org.
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PEN America
@penamerica.bsky.social
· Jan 24
PEN America Criticizes "Alarming" and "Dismissive" Language on Book Bans by U.S. Education Department - PEN America
Kasey Meehan, director, Freedom to Read, at PEN America, said: "For over three years we have countered rhetoric that book bans occurring in public schools are a “hoax.” They are absolutely not. This k...
pen.org
PEN America responds to action taken today by the Department of Education dismissing complaints about book bans and referring to them as a “hoax”:
"All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools.“ pen.org/press-releas...
"All students deserve to see themselves and the world around them reflected in the books shelved within their public schools.“ pen.org/press-releas...
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...
Global Platform Launches to Combat Authoritarian Censorship and Preserve Independent Journalism
New digital platform designed to safeguard journalism globally and preserve historical records from being obliterated by censorship
pen.org
December 9, 2025 at 8:55 PM
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
December 9, 2025 at 5:35 PM
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
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/tenured-professor-fired-pro-palestinian-protests?CMP=share_btn_url
Tenured US professor fired over pro-Palestinian protests contests dismissal
Sang Hea Kil is first tenured faculty member fired from a public university in connection to the protests
www.theguardian.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:05 AM
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
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/05/tenured-professor-fired-pro-palestinian-protests?CMP=share_btn_url
New Conversation on the Quad: Yale student & PEN America alum Nicole Manning on why “campus infrastructures for expression,” like cultural centers, are essential for belonging, confidence, and free speech.
Read more: https://pen.org/conversations-on-the-quad-nicole-manning/
Read more: https://pen.org/conversations-on-the-quad-nicole-manning/
December 8, 2025 at 9:17 PM
New Conversation on the Quad: Yale student & PEN America alum Nicole Manning on why “campus infrastructures for expression,” like cultural centers, are essential for belonging, confidence, and free speech.
Read more: https://pen.org/conversations-on-the-quad-nicole-manning/
Read more: https://pen.org/conversations-on-the-quad-nicole-manning/
Reposted by PEN America
New York: Want to take action? Join read-ins in Albany & NYC on 12/8 to demand Governor Hochul sign the Freedom to Read Act! @penamerica.bsky.social @americanbookseller.bsky.social @authorsabb.bsky.social
Registration for Albany: https://bit.ly/4rDo4Kb
#libraryadvocate #freedomtoread
Registration for Albany: https://bit.ly/4rDo4Kb
#libraryadvocate #freedomtoread
December 5, 2025 at 10:09 PM
New York: Want to take action? Join read-ins in Albany & NYC on 12/8 to demand Governor Hochul sign the Freedom to Read Act! @penamerica.bsky.social @americanbookseller.bsky.social @authorsabb.bsky.social
Registration for Albany: https://bit.ly/4rDo4Kb
#libraryadvocate #freedomtoread
Registration for Albany: https://bit.ly/4rDo4Kb
#libraryadvocate #freedomtoread
"The government has no place telling people what they can and cannot read.”
PEN America decries Supreme Court decision on book ban case https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-decries-supreme-court-decision-on-book-ban-case/ #censorship #bannedbooks
PEN America decries Supreme Court decision on book ban case https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-decries-supreme-court-decision-on-book-ban-case/ #censorship #bannedbooks
PEN America Decries Supreme Court Decision on Book Ban Case
PEN America responded today to the Supreme Court decision to decline to hear Little v. Llano County, a case challenging book removals from the Llano County, TX public library, saying leaving a lower court ruling in place in effect allows state and local...
pen.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:55 PM
"The government has no place telling people what they can and cannot read.”
PEN America decries Supreme Court decision on book ban case https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-decries-supreme-court-decision-on-book-ban-case/ #censorship #bannedbooks
PEN America decries Supreme Court decision on book ban case https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-decries-supreme-court-decision-on-book-ban-case/ #censorship #bannedbooks
In a new interview, award-winning author Elana K. Arnold explains how her books serve as places where young readers can safely learn about (and practice) consent. Read more: pen.org/elana-k-arno...
All Experiences ‘Deserve Space on the Page’ — and Sex Is No Exception, Argues YA Author Elana K. Arnold
Arnold follows her gut as she writes, and if her gut tells her sexual pain or pleasure is part of a character’s journey, she listens.
pen.org
December 7, 2025 at 5:32 PM
In a new interview, award-winning author Elana K. Arnold explains how her books serve as places where young readers can safely learn about (and practice) consent. Read more: pen.org/elana-k-arno...
PEN America Condemns Use of "Prohibited Words" List to Censor Native American Author Darcie Little Badger https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-condemns-use-of-forbidden-words-list-to-censor-native-american-author/
PEN America Condemns Use of Forbidden Words List to Censor Native American Author
Native American author withdraws from speaking engagement at a Utah university after being given a list of words she cannot use.
pen.org
December 5, 2025 at 8:03 PM
PEN America Condemns Use of "Prohibited Words" List to Censor Native American Author Darcie Little Badger https://pen.org/press-release/pen-america-condemns-use-of-forbidden-words-list-to-censor-native-american-author/
If reading broadens the mind, books in translation expand your horizons even further — introducing you to stories, places, cultures, and voices you won't soon forget.
Here are some of our favorite books in translation published in English in 2025: bookshop.org/lists/2025-n...
Here are some of our favorite books in translation published in English in 2025: bookshop.org/lists/2025-n...
2025 Notable Books in Translation
Now that it's the end of the year, join us in celebration by reading one of the many incredible books in translation published in English in 2025.
bookshop.org
December 5, 2025 at 6:28 PM
If reading broadens the mind, books in translation expand your horizons even further — introducing you to stories, places, cultures, and voices you won't soon forget.
Here are some of our favorite books in translation published in English in 2025: bookshop.org/lists/2025-n...
Here are some of our favorite books in translation published in English in 2025: bookshop.org/lists/2025-n...
Journalist Ibtisam Mahdi reports from Gaza on the role of women writers, artists, and journalists in preserving humanity and Palestinian culture. If it weren’t for them, one writer told Mahdi, “so many stories would have died with their owners.” Read: pen.org/women-on-gen...
In Her Words: Women on Genocide and Rebuilding Gaza
What we did not lose was the voice. Women’s voices were like a thin thread guiding us back to our humanity when the war tried to rip it away.
pen.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Journalist Ibtisam Mahdi reports from Gaza on the role of women writers, artists, and journalists in preserving humanity and Palestinian culture. If it weren’t for them, one writer told Mahdi, “so many stories would have died with their owners.” Read: pen.org/women-on-gen...
What are the "Best Children’s Books of 2025"? These are 24 titles that have been singled out again and again on the best-of lists from NPR, the New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, The New York Times, and more https://pen.org/best-childrens-books-2025/
Best Children's Books 2025: 24 Top Picks From the Year's ‘Best-Of' Lists
What are the best children's books of 2025? We looked at 2025 best book lists to find the very best, including “Every Monday Mabel” and “Fireworks.”
pen.org
December 5, 2025 at 3:31 AM
What are the "Best Children’s Books of 2025"? These are 24 titles that have been singled out again and again on the best-of lists from NPR, the New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, The New York Times, and more https://pen.org/best-childrens-books-2025/
PEN America today offered its support to a lawsuit filed in federal court by The New York Times that argues the Pentagon’s newly imposed reporting rules violate journalists’ constitutional rights. https://pen.org/press-release/lawsuit-challenging-pentagon-press-restrictions/
Support for Lawsuit Challenging Pentagon Press Restrictions
PEN America today offered its support to a lawsuit filed in federal court by The New York Times that argues the Pentagon’s newly imposed reporting rules violate journalists’ constitutional rights.
pen.org
December 4, 2025 at 8:42 PM
PEN America today offered its support to a lawsuit filed in federal court by The New York Times that argues the Pentagon’s newly imposed reporting rules violate journalists’ constitutional rights. https://pen.org/press-release/lawsuit-challenging-pentagon-press-restrictions/
Student journalism is dealt a blow as the nationwide crackdown on DEI causes the shuttering of two magazines at U. Alabama. Student voices continue to be silenced in this ongoing assault on free speech.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/u-of-alabama-student-magazines-dei.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/u-of-alabama-student-magazines-dei.html
U. of Alabama Suspends Black and Female Student Magazines, Citing D.E.I. Guidance
www.nytimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Student journalism is dealt a blow as the nationwide crackdown on DEI causes the shuttering of two magazines at U. Alabama. Student voices continue to be silenced in this ongoing assault on free speech.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/u-of-alabama-student-magazines-dei.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/us/u-of-alabama-student-magazines-dei.html
Writing from Gaza, Palestinian journalist Ibtisam Mahdi explores how women have played—and will continue to play—a critical role in rebuilding life and culture amid genocide. Mahdi has interviewed nearly 100 women about profound hardship in Gaza. Read more: pen.org/women-on-gen...
December 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Writing from Gaza, Palestinian journalist Ibtisam Mahdi explores how women have played—and will continue to play—a critical role in rebuilding life and culture amid genocide. Mahdi has interviewed nearly 100 women about profound hardship in Gaza. Read more: pen.org/women-on-gen...
Book banning may seem like the new normal. But at PEN America, we're fighting back—partnering with students, parents, teachers, librarians and like-minded organizations to protect the freedom to read. This #GivingTuesday, help us keep books where they belong: in the hands of students: pen.org/GT25BS
December 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Book banning may seem like the new normal. But at PEN America, we're fighting back—partnering with students, parents, teachers, librarians and like-minded organizations to protect the freedom to read. This #GivingTuesday, help us keep books where they belong: in the hands of students: pen.org/GT25BS
Congratulations to all of our 2026 grant winners! Recognizing oral history, young adult literature, migration narratives, and translation, these works-in-progress illuminate important stories and are sure to carry a lasting literary impact. Learn more here: pen.org/announcing-t...
December 2, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Congratulations to all of our 2026 grant winners! Recognizing oral history, young adult literature, migration narratives, and translation, these works-in-progress illuminate important stories and are sure to carry a lasting literary impact. Learn more here: pen.org/announcing-t...
In 2025, America's free press comes with a price tag. ABC and CBS paid millions to settle frivolous lawsuits. The CPB—now defunded—is shutting down. Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador. Help us keep fighting to defend journalists, press freedom—and democracy—at: pen.org/GT25TH #GivingTuesday
December 2, 2025 at 7:26 PM
In 2025, America's free press comes with a price tag. ABC and CBS paid millions to settle frivolous lawsuits. The CPB—now defunded—is shutting down. Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador. Help us keep fighting to defend journalists, press freedom—and democracy—at: pen.org/GT25TH #GivingTuesday
Reposted by PEN America
This month’s reading list is themed “From Behind Bars” in for our #DayoftheImprisonedWriter campaign. These works, born from experiences behind bars remind us that the human voice endures even when freedom is taken away.
Take action for those behind bars: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...
Take action for those behind bars: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...
November 29, 2025 at 1:48 PM
This month’s reading list is themed “From Behind Bars” in for our #DayoftheImprisonedWriter campaign. These works, born from experiences behind bars remind us that the human voice endures even when freedom is taken away.
Take action for those behind bars: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...
Take action for those behind bars: www.pen-international.org/our-campaign...
Reposted by PEN America
With just 8 days left of our Day of the Imprisoned Writer campaign, we call on our community to stand with #MohamedTadjadit #YalqunRozi #MziaAmaglobeli #RoryBranker. This campaign reminds us that freedom of expression survives through solidarity and collective action.
December 2, 2025 at 11:17 AM
With just 8 days left of our Day of the Imprisoned Writer campaign, we call on our community to stand with #MohamedTadjadit #YalqunRozi #MziaAmaglobeli #RoryBranker. This campaign reminds us that freedom of expression survives through solidarity and collective action.
In 2025, protesting in America is becoming riskier—and more militarized—than ever. At PEN America, we've been fighting for the freedom to write, speak—and engage in legally protected protest—for 103 years. With your help this #GivingTuesday, we’ll keep up the fight in the years ahead: pen.org/GT25BS
December 2, 2025 at 4:20 PM
In 2025, protesting in America is becoming riskier—and more militarized—than ever. At PEN America, we've been fighting for the freedom to write, speak—and engage in legally protected protest—for 103 years. With your help this #GivingTuesday, we’ll keep up the fight in the years ahead: pen.org/GT25BS
Film producer Blum, author-bookseller Patchett to receive PEN America awards abcnews.go.com/Entertainmen...
Film producer Blum, author-bookseller Patchett to receive PEN America awards
Oscar-nominated producer Jason Blum is set to receive the Business Visionary award from PEN America at its fundraising gala next spring
abcnews.go.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Film producer Blum, author-bookseller Patchett to receive PEN America awards abcnews.go.com/Entertainmen...
Join us on December 10th, 2025, for a virtual reading celebrating the winners of the 2025 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers! Learn more and register: pen.org/event/pen-da...
PEN/Dau Prize x Catapult: Reading from Best Debut Short Stories 2025
Ten winners of the 2025 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers will read selections from their award-winning stories.
pen.org
December 1, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Join us on December 10th, 2025, for a virtual reading celebrating the winners of the 2025 PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers! Learn more and register: pen.org/event/pen-da...
The White House “media offenders” list isn’t just a stunt but a dangerous attempt to silence credible reporting. Using presidential power to shame reporters is an attack on press freedom. A healthy democracy doesn’t target journalists for doing their jobs. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
White House launches website to excoriate media for ‘biased’ stories
Trump administration lists reporting it objects to in latest escalation of attacks on US journalism
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:36 PM
The White House “media offenders” list isn’t just a stunt but a dangerous attempt to silence credible reporting. Using presidential power to shame reporters is an attack on press freedom. A healthy democracy doesn’t target journalists for doing their jobs. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
For the first time since 1988, the US government is not recognizing #WorldAIDSDay.
William Johnson, our PEN America Florida Director, put together his own literary-based recognition of the day with a list of essential books about the virus. pen.org/world-aids-d...
William Johnson, our PEN America Florida Director, put together his own literary-based recognition of the day with a list of essential books about the virus. pen.org/world-aids-d...
World AIDS Day Reading List: Writing Through Crisis, Stigma, and Institutional Neglect
Documenting lived experience is central to defending free expression. These writers write through crisis, stigma, and institutional neglect.
pen.org
December 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM
For the first time since 1988, the US government is not recognizing #WorldAIDSDay.
William Johnson, our PEN America Florida Director, put together his own literary-based recognition of the day with a list of essential books about the virus. pen.org/world-aids-d...
William Johnson, our PEN America Florida Director, put together his own literary-based recognition of the day with a list of essential books about the virus. pen.org/world-aids-d...