PEN America

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression.
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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression at home and abroad. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at PEN.org

PEN America was founded in 1922 and is the largest of the 144 PEN centers in 101 countries that together comprise PEN International. Our more than 4,000 Members—who represent the most distinguished writers, translators, editors, booksellers, librarians, students, and passionate readers who share PEN’s ideals—form the cornerstone of PEN America’s ability to advocate for the rights of writers and readers.

09/18/2026

(WASHINGTON)–In response to President Trump’s social media post that he intends to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, PEN America issued the comment below:
“Someone needs to explain to President Trump how the First Amendment works,” said Tim Richardson, journalism and disinformation director at PEN America. “As we’ve seen time and time again, this administration’s hostility toward the press is never about the accuracy of news stories, but about its inability to withstand scrutiny of its actions. The White House can’t be allowed to decide which journalists are able to cover the president based on the content of their news coverage.”

The president’s social media post marks the administration’s latest assault against a free press and indicates that “other outlets” might also face similar retaliation for their reporting.

09/18/2026

PEN America and Florida Freedom To Read Project decried a list released by the Florida Department of Education of 600+ books banned from schools in 10 of the state’s districts during the 2025–26 academic year.

As astounding as the list is, it doesn’t tell the complete story of book censorship in Florida. The titles reflect books that districts reported as removed or discontinued following formal objections by parents or district residents — but those aren’t the only ways students can lose access to a book.

Stay tuned for PEN America’s next banned book report in early October, which will provide detailed information on the number and scope of books banned throughout the country during the 2025–26 school year. In the meantime, learn more about the books on the department’s list at: https://pen.org/florida-600-banned-books/

09/18/2026

NYC! Join PEN America for a special screening of First They Came for My College, a new feature documentary that follows the story of New College of Florida during its unprecedented takeover by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2023. Through direct accounts from students, parents, and faculty, the film captures the human impact of ideological attacks on academic freedom, diversity, and student expression.

We’ll be joined by Patrick Bresnan, Maria Vesperi, Patricia Okker, and PEN America's Amy Reid for a special Q&A moderated by Jonathan Friedman, Managing Director of PEN America U.S. Free Expression Programs, at Firehouse Cinema following the Saturday, September 26, 1 PM showtime.

Learn more here: https://pen.org/event/screening-first-they-came-for-my-college-nyc/

09/18/2026

No more book bans: how Florida students are pushing rightwingers out of school boards

Local communities are fighting back against the influence of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty in education

09/18/2026

Today, we join 10 rights groups in calling on Israeli authorities to immediately end the harassment campaign against “NAZA” filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The British-produced documentary won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival last week.

Punishing artists for their work sets a dangerous precedent for press and artistic freedom everywhere.

Read the full letter here:

The Committee to Protect Journalists and 10 international press freedom organizations are calling on Israeli authorities to protect the safety and fundamental rights of Israeli investigative journalists and filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor following threats by senior officials and escalating...

09/17/2026

Join the Prison and Justice Writing Program for “Other Things Unspoken: Celebrating the PEN Prison Writing Awards,” a 2026 Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend event featuring the voices and stories of writers surviving and creating behind bars. This selection of powerful essays, stories, poems, and play excerpts will be read and performed by formerly incarcerated writers and activists including PM Dunne, Randall Horton, Roslyn D. Smith, and Kashawn Taylor.

This event is presented in partnership with the Cultural Museum of African Art in Brooklyn, NYC on Wednesday, September 23, 7-9pm. RSVP here: https://brooklynbookfestival.org/event/other-words-unspoken-celebrating-the-pen-prison-writing-awards-anthology-series-in-person/

09/17/2026

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with our latest Bookshop reading list. From gothic horror to historical romance to memoirs, there’s something for every reader! Te va a enamorar.

Tell us which book you’re looking forward to reading in the comments below, and check out the full list at: https://bookshop.org/lists/2026-hispanic-heritage-month-reading-list

09/17/2026

PEN America today announced the selection of award-winning novelist, essayist, and professor Phil Klay to serve as our president and chair of the Board of Trustees. Read the full announcement:

PEN America today announced the selection of award-winning novelist, essayist, and professor Phil Klay to serve as its president and chair of the Board of Trustees of the 104-year-old writers organiza...

09/16/2026

“The Only Failure Is Not Writing”: In a new “podcast-in-print” interview, poet Charles Jensen, Director of PEN America’s Los Angeles office, discusses grief-gazing, memoirizing, and the liberation in hybridity in his memoir, SPLICE OF LIFE

Ja’net and Kiana chat with poet Charles Jensen on grief-gazing, memoirizing, and the liberation in hybridity in his memoir, SPLICE OF LIFE.

09/16/2026

We are saddened by the loss of Pulitzer-Prize-winning author and longtime PEN America member Annie Dillard. Her 1974 book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, published when she was just 28, won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1975. Her work spanned poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and a memoir. Across her work her writing was marked by a dedicated attention to the world, a commitment to looking at the world in its fullness — it shadows and its light. Among her many awards and accolades was the 2000 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay for her 1999 book of interconnected essays For the Time Being.

Her Thoreau-like account of journeys in the woods, published when she was 28, was the first of many ruminations on life and nature, good and evil.

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