The freedom to read is under fire. With more than 3,300 instances of book bans during the ‘22-23 school year, districts all over the country are restricting access to the most fundamental source of knowledge, diverse perspectives, ideas, and stories, with Florida leading this crushing wave of censorship. With your support, PEN America is meeting this challenge head-on.

Together with an unprecedented coalition of bestselling writers– David Baldacci, Judy Blume, Michael Connelly, Brad Meltzer, James Patterson, Jodi Picoult, Nora Roberts, Amanda Gorman, Brit Bennett, Nikki Grimes, Khaled Hosseini, Gillian Flynn, Ruby Bridges, Mo Willems, and many more– PEN America plans to open a Florida center to wage campaigns, host public events and empower Florida citizens to defend their basic freedoms.