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PEN America

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Defending the freedom to write in the U.S. and everywhere.

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In each edition, PEN America’s Freedom to Write Index profiles writers jailed during the year, alongside thematic and country-specific threats to freedom of expression. As many remain behind bars, we return to their stories to encourage international solidarity and renew calls for their immediate release. China (including autonomous regions), Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Türkiye were the top five countries jailing the most writers during 2025. Authorities in Iran, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Russia – three of the top ten countries jailing writers that were each engaged in conflicts during the year – targeted writers who used anti-war language or themes in their poetry, commentaries, and other work, a key pattern that emerged in the 2025 data.Learn more about Du Bin (China), Parviz Sedaghat (Iran), Noura Al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia), Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam), Mehmet Üçar (Türkiye), Anwar Rostom (Israel / Occupied Palestinian Territory), and Artem Kamardin (Russia). Read the full #FreedomToWrite Index 2025 report at the link in our bio. by @penamerica

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We are thrilled to present the 10 winners of the 2026 PEN America Literary Awards which were announced live at the PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony on March 31, 2026, at The Town Hall in New York City hosted by Murray Hill. PEN/Jean Stein Book Award: SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide, Cannupa Hanska Luger @cannupahanska @ayinpress / @aorabooks PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award: The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains, Pria Anand @simonandschuster / @atriabooks PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay: Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974-, Jamaica Kincaid @virtuouspomona @fsgbooks PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection: GREEN OF ALL HEADS, Aracelis Girmay @boaeditions PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection: Guatemalan Rhapsody, Jared Lemus @jaredilemus @harpercollins / @eccobooks PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, Peter Beinart @peter_beinart @penguinrandomhouse / @aaknopf PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs @nicholastboggs @fsgbooks PEN Award for Poetry in Translation Theory of the Voice and Dream by Liliana Ponce, translated from Spanish by Michael Martin Shea @worldpoetrybooks PEN Translation Prize The Leucothea Dialogues by Cesare Pavese, translated from Italian by Minna Zallman Proctor @archipelagobooks PEN Open Book Award Ibis, Justin Haynes @justinhayneswriter @abramsbooks / @overlookpress Read more about our winners — including the judges’ citations — at the link in our bio. #PENLitAwards #LiteraryAwards #LiteraryAwards2026 by @penamerica

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2 months ago

'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess was first published in 1962. In 2010, it was named one of 100 best books of all time by Time magazine.During the 2024-25 school year, it became the most banned book in American schools.In creating our new report 'Banned In The USA: The Normalization of Book Banning,' we discovered eight more titles that were banned at least 17 times. The 9 most-banned titles include several recent #1 New York Times bestsellers, one National Book Award winner, one finalist, plus titles, such as @judyblume4real's 1975 classic 'Forever...' that have, like 'A Clockwork Orange,' been acclaimed and celebrated for decades.Learn more about these and more of the most banned books of the 2024-25 school year at the link in our bio.#bannedbooks #freethebooks #bannedbooksweek by @penamerica

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STARTS TONIGHT! PEN America’s free online workshop for early career writers returns for four weekly sessions starting 8 June 2026. This year’s You Are A Writer series is dedicated to fiction writing, from early research to publishing strategies. Join us online Monday evenings to learn and discuss everything you need to know to get your first novel on the right track, with guidance from established writers, editors, and publishers.Learn more — and sign up now — at the link in our bio. #writing #writingworkshop #free by @penamerica

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Christopher Nolan fan clubs. Shared delight over vinyls. Efforts to organize book clubs. There’s a lot on the internet right now that both reminds Tochi Onyebuchi (@treize64) of its early days and gives him hope for its future. Cory Doctorow and aliadastagir joined Onyebuchi for a #PENWorldVoices panel, moderated by @aliteralpsyduck, that explored the darkest sides of the digital world and the possibility that a bright future still lies ahead. “We, I think, are closer to a new, good internet that can be the nervous system of our species while we fight genocide, climate emergency, and rising fascism than we’ve been at any time in my career,” Doctorow said. Check out other quotes from the panel at the link in bio, and let us know in the comments below what’s keeping you optimistic about the internet. by @penamerica

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This #PrideMonth, check out PEN America’s newest reading list, which features nearly 100 stories of LGBTQ+ love! Whether you’re in the mood for a heartwrenching novel, a vulnerable poetry collection, or an endlessly witty graphic novel, we’ve got you covered. See the full list at the link in our bio.And if you’ve got book recommendations of your own for Pride Month, drop them in the comments below. #Pride #Love #Reading #Romance by @penamerica

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@Izidoraxangel’s translation of @az.renekarabash’s novel She Who Remains was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. And featured on “best of” fiction lists. And adapted into a forthcoming movie. But before any of that, Izidora Angel won a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. For over 20 years, the grant has promoted the publication and reception of translated international literature in English. The grant, Angel told us, provided “absolutely essential” support. “What was said in the judges’ citation just ended up being so incredibly helpful for positioning the book, and you will see little remnants of it even now, if you look at the Booker Prize and the things that the judges are saying there,” she said. “That’s incredibly powerful.” Submit now — applications for all PEN America Literary Grants are open until June 15! At the link in bio, learn more about eligibility and submission details. by @penamerica

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Tech has begun to look like “a system of torment and misery,” says Cory Doctorow. But does it have to be that way? He doesn’t think so. At a #PENWorldVoices panel moderated by @aliteralpsyduck, Doctorow spoke with @treize64 and aliadastagir about the degradation of the digital world and how we can all make it a little more human. Click the link in bio for more highlights from the event. by @penamerica

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PEN America mourns the death of Marjane Satrapi, the French-Iranian author, illustrator, director and activist best known for her graphic novel series and film Persepolis.In 2005, Satrapi joined us for a conversation with Art Spiegelman on the art of comics and narrating lives, moderated by Françoise Mouly.See that full conversation at the link in our bio. by @penamerica

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The path to equality runs through imagination, stories, and art. As we mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, these LGBTQ+ voices show how free expression helps people see themselves, be themselves, and create change.Learn more — and add your voice — at the link in our bio. These quotes reflect the views of the speakers and not necessarily those of PEN America.#AmericaSpeaks #PrideMonth by @penamerica

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55% of picture books banned in the last academic school year featured LGBTQ+ characters or people, according to PEN America’s latest report. That means that countless young readers lost out on access to fun, tender, and engaging literature that might have taught them about themselves and others. This Pride Month, read what @Bibliogato, @sarahsbrannen, and @kylelukoffwrites say about the value of picture books depicting LGBTQ+ characters and themes — and the dangerous message that censoring these stories sends to young people. Head to the link in bio for our new Facts & Fiction report detailing how stories are being stripped away by book bans. #PrideMonth #BannedBooks #PictureBooks by @penamerica

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Golrokh Iraee has refused to let jail silence her. A writer and activist from Iran, she was first arrested in 2014 and has endured a cycle of arrest and re-arrest by Iranian authorities since then, most recently in 2022 at the onset of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.As many in Iran continue to face challenges connecting to the world through the internet, Iraee’s letter shares a perspective from prison on the freedom to write and the power of the pen. We stand in solidarity with Golrokh and all unjustly detained writers, and call for their immediate release.Iraee’s letter was originally written in Persian this April and shared for the first time as she was named one of the 2026 PEN/Barbey #FreedomToWrite Honorees. by @penamerica

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