PEN Melbourne

PEN Melbourne Defending freedom of expression. Promoting literature. The PEN Melbourne Centre is one of 147 PEN International centres worldwide.

PEN Sweden member Joakim Medin faces years in prison in Türkiye on account of his journalistic work. His trial in absent...
12/05/2026

PEN Sweden member Joakim Medin faces years in prison in Türkiye on account of his journalistic work. His trial in absentia is set to resume in Istanbul.
PEN continue to stand with Medin.

PEN Sweden member Joakim Medin faces years in prison in Türkiye on account of his journalistic work. His trial in absent...
12/05/2026

PEN Sweden member Joakim Medin faces years in prison in Türkiye on account of his journalistic work.
His trial in absentia is set to resume in Istanbul.
PEN continue to stand with Medin.

In the words of PEN International President Burhan Sonmez, when journalists are silenced, truth itself is pushed into da...
04/05/2026

In the words of PEN International President Burhan Sonmez, when journalists are silenced, truth itself is pushed into darkness.
In support of World Press Freedom Day, for a whole month we’re mobilising our global network to push back — calling on governments to secure the release of all Ukrainian journalists in Russian captivity.
It’s time to act. Find out how via the link in our bio.

Hosted by Antoun Issa, Fire in Every Direction traces three generations of displacement.Through Baconi’s grandmother fle...
30/04/2026

Hosted by Antoun Issa, Fire in Every Direction traces three generations of displacement.
Through Baconi’s grandmother fleeing Palestine, his family escaping Lebanon’s civil war, and his own q***r awakening in Jordan, Baconi has blended humour with loss and hope. Through an exploration of q***rness, shame, dispossession and desire, Baconi faces the challenge of reclaiming identity in a world that demands silence.

12:30 - 1:30 pm, Saturday, 9th May at The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Tickets are available via mwf.com.au
$25 full price or $20 concession.

Secure your tickets now via the link in our bio.

Event: Join on Thursday, 23 April 2026, for their online eventVoices Freed: International Solidarity in a Time of Globa...
22/04/2026

Event: Join on Thursday, 23 April 2026, for their online event
Voices Freed: International Solidarity in a Time of Global Disorder will explore what this solidarity looks like in practice and the difference it can make.
Moderated by Peter Greste — Australian-born journalist, author, academic and patron of PEN Perth — the event will feature Hany Babu, Indian academic and anti-caste activist; Mahmoud Muna, Palestinian writer and bookseller; and Taciana Niadbaj, Belarusian poet, translator and President of PEN Belarus.
📅 Thursday, 23 April 2026
🕐 13:00–14:30 (UK time) or 22:00-23:30 (AEST)
📍 Online via Zoom
🎟️ Free – booking required via the link https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-freed-international-solidarity-in-a-time-of-global-disorder-tickets-1987409584567?aff=oddtdtcreator

Join us at the bottom steps of the State Library of Victoria at 5pm on Friday 20th March for a worldwide reading marking...
18/03/2026

Join us at the bottom steps of the State Library of Victoria at 5pm on Friday 20th March for a worldwide reading marking Nowruz — Persian New Year.
This is a worldwide reading of the writings of Narges Mohammadi and other Iranian writers, held in solidarity with political prisoners in Iran and in memory of those killed in January 2026. We aim to draw international public attention to the situation of political prisoners, Iran’s systematic use of the death penalty, and the victims of ongoing state violence.
All are welcome.

In Conversation with Travis Lovett: National Walk for TruthThe story of this country is still unfinished and truth is th...
19/02/2026

In Conversation with Travis Lovett: National Walk for Truth
The story of this country is still unfinished and truth is the missing chapter.
Tuesday, March 24, 6.30 - 8.00pm
The Wheeler Centre

Proud Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man Travis Lovett will reflect on the work of the Yoorrook Justice Commission and the ongoing imperative for national truth-telling.

In April 2026 Travis is leading a National Walk for Truth calling for a national truth-telling process developed in genuine partnership with First Nations Peoples.

Travis served as Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission – Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry.

The conversation with Lovett will be moderated by Daniel James. Daniel is a Yorta Yorta Melbourne based writer and broadcaster, and was the lead writer for the Yoorrook Justice Commission's final report Truth be Told.

🎟️ Secure your tickets now via the link

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/in-conversation-with-travis-lovett-national-walk-for-truth-tickets-1982855437992?aff=oddtdtcreator

At a time when writers, artists and advocates in Australia and around the world are being silenced for speaking out agai...
03/02/2026

At a time when writers, artists and advocates in Australia and around the world are being silenced for speaking out against oppression, PEN Melbourne is committed to the guiding principle that literature knows no frontiers.
Join us on 16th February as we launch these pamphlets, which form part of PEN Melbourne’s support for the writing and reading community by encouraging and promoting writers whose work reflects a range of ideas, viewpoints and beliefs.
Tickets are free, though bookings are essential due to limited capacity. Secure your spot now via
https://www.readings.com.au/events/keep-words-free

Writer Ali Asadollahi’s has recently been arrested amid the horrific state violence against protesters in Iran, which sh...
30/01/2026

Writer Ali Asadollahi’s has recently been arrested amid the horrific state violence against protesters in Iran, which shows that the Iranian authorities are turning to their familiar playbook of silencing dissenting voices and crushing cultural and intellectual resistance.

PEN Melbourne stands with PEN America in calling on the Iranian government to immediately release Asadollahi and for an end to state repression, which is inclusive of such against writers, journalists, and human rights defenders.

Three Australian PEN Centres, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, are gravely concerned for Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun....
24/01/2026

Three Australian PEN Centres, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, are gravely concerned for Australian citizen Dr Yang Hengjun.

Dr Yang has been unjustly incarcerated in a Chinese prison since 19 January 2019. His health is precarious and in February 2024 Yang was handed a two-year suspended death sentence.
This sentence will come up for review in early February.

The three Australian PEN Centres , call for the unjust charges against Dr Yang to be dropped, that he receives appropriate medical treatment, that he be released from prison and brought home.

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176 Little Lonsdale Street
Melbourne, VIC
3000

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