PEN Canada

06/04/2026

Do you know a Canadian who helped a threatened foreign writer?

This summer, consider nominating them for the 2026 Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize.

Now in its fifth year, this prize is awarded to a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or Canadian organization who has recently provided significant help to a writer or journalist outside Canada who has faced threats, violence, harassment, or imprisonment for reporting or commenting on issues of public interest.

Previous recipients have been recognized because they provided paralegal services, found pathways out of unsafe countries, resettled those who were fleeing danger, housed writers as they resettled in Canada, or lobbied governments to release imprisoned writers.

📅 The deadline for nomination is Wednesday August 19, 2026.

The winner will receive $3,000 CAD and be recognized at the PEN Canada awards ceremony later this year.

Fill out the nomination form on pencanada.ca: https://pencanada.ca/nominations-open-for-2026-marie-ange-garrigue-prize/

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This prize is generously funded by Cynthia Wine and Philip Slayton.

06/03/2026

Announcing the jury for our two PEN prizes 📣

PEN Canada is seeking nominations from the public and civil society peers for two annual awards: the Ken Filkow Prize, for advancing freedom of expression in Canada, and the Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize, for assisting a writer in danger outside of Canada. The prizes are valued at $2,000 and $3,000, respectively.

This year’s nominees will be judged by a panel that includes Andrew DuBois, Andy Lamey and Shawn Micallef.

📅 The deadline for nominations is Wednesday August 19, 2026.

Learn more and submit a nomination on our website: https://pencanada.ca/meet-the-jury-for-two-pen-awards-2026-ken-filkow-and-marie-ange-garrigue-prizes/

06/02/2026

La lengua wichí pertenece a la familia mataco-mataguaya y constituye el núcleo de la identidad espiritual, social y territorial del pueblo wichí. No es solo ...

06/02/2026

Next week at our sold-out Summer Social, Kim Echlin will be interviewed by Ali Sobati.

Sobati is an Iranian poet, translator, and literary activist based in Toronto. With over 20 years of work in Iran’s suppressed literary and academic circles, he has taught modern poetry, philosophy of literature, and critical theory across underground and alternative institutions.

In January 2026, amidst the Iranian government's lethal crackdowns on dissent and civilians, Sobati wrote a piece for PEN about a consequential 1994 manifesto — We Are Writers. The manifesto was drafted by 134 prominent Iranian authors and poets in a time of state surveillance, intimidation, and the criminalization of independent thought. The document is marked a decisive moment in Iranian literary resistance.

Ahead of our event next week, read about this Iranian literary history in his piece — We Are Writers: Collective Freedom and the Cost of its Defense — on our website:

https://pencanada.ca/we-are-writers-collective-freedom-and-the-cost-of-its-defense/

05/29/2026

“The more people like my work, the more I face challenges and obstacles in Kurdistan. They’ve tried to silence me, even offered me money or to work for them. But I refused, because as a journalist you have to be the voice of those voiceless people.”

This is Kurdish-Canadian journalist Diary Marif persisting in his advocacy and journalism. Over the last five years, Diary used his journalism and media connections to advocate for five imprisoned writers in Kurdistan, including fundraising for their families, speaking with government officials, and hosting information seminars on the cases.

For this work, he was recognized last year with the Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize.

This year's prize is currently open for nominations — we encourage anyone interested in PEN to submit a nomination: https://pencanada.ca/advocacy-aid/marie-ange-garrigue-prize/

As you prepare your nomination, catch up with last year's winner, who tells PEN about how he continues his journalism with responsibility and optimism:

https://pencanada.ca/a-voice-for-voiceless-people-diary-marif-on-his-2025-marie-ange-garrigue-prize/

The Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize is awarded annually to those who have provided significant help to a writer or journalist outside Canada who has faced threats, violence, harassment, or imprisonment for reporting or commenting on issues of public interest. Past recipients include journalists, paralegal...

05/27/2026

PEN International joins an international coalition of press freedom and human rights organizations calling for the immediate, unconditional release of Vietnamese journalist, author and democracy advocate Phạm Đoan Trang.

Today is her 48th birthday, and the sixth birthday she is spending behind bars:

‍ ‍ “I don’t want freedom for myself; that’s too easy. No, I want something greater: freedom for Vietnam.” Phạm Đoan Trang ‍ 27 May 2026: PEN International joins an international coalition of press freedom and human rights organisations calling for the immediate and unconditional re...

05/25/2026

PEN members — RSVP to attend our Annual General Meeting.

🗓️ Thursday June 11, 2026
⏰ 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.
📍 Online and at Victoria College, Toronto

This year for the first time the AGM will be hybrid – with a Zoom link available to any member or supporter across the country, and 20 in-person seats in Toronto available to PEN members only.

At this meeting, members will exercise their vote, hear from committee chairs, and connect with the board, as well as hear a poetry reading from one of last year's New Voices Award winners.

The AGM event is free to attend and registration is required:

Be the first to see our annual report and participate in the elections for new board members. Stay afterwards for a summer social.

05/25/2026

When Bangladesh held elections in February, the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami gained more seats than it ever had before.

Md Shafiqul Islam is a noted expert on Bangladesh, which ranks eighth in the world for population size. He is also a PEN Canada Writers in Exile member.

In an essay for Free Inquiry, he offers insights into the direction of democracy in Bangladesh and puts the election into perspective:

A recent report in The New York Times characterized Bangladesh’s latest election as a moment when Islamist politics overshadowed the student-led uprising ...

05/22/2026

"I keep thinking about what Patricia said: someone just starting on this journey does not need the same resources as someone who already has experience.

Navigating all of this feels very different when you are a newcomer. If you do not have a network here, you are not only learning how to write or publish, you are also trying to understand a whole system on your own."

Last month, PEN hosted a workshop for Writers in Exile. Led by author and educator Patricia Westerhof, the workshop explored publishing in Canada, and offered a variety of practical advice and resources to empower the writers in their careers.

The PEN Writers in Exile is made up of nearly 100 journalists, poets, editors, satirists, translators, critics and playwrights across Canada, each of whom have fled threats or persecution in their homelands related to their writing.

Up next, new workshops and readings will be scheduled for the PEN Writers in Exile in September and October. In the meantime, this community of writers are continuing their monthly writing workshops with Firefly Creative Writing.

PEN Canada is always open to new Writers in Exile members living in Canada — questions and referrals can be sent to [email protected].

Learn more about this program and community: https://pencanada.ca/advocacy-aid/writers-in-exile/