Our newest report, America’s Censored Classrooms 2023: Lawmakers Shift Strategies as Resistance Rises, documents 110 new educational gag orders introduced in 2023, which primarily take aim at restricting speech about LGBTQ+ topics and identities in K-12 schools, and squelching the structures that underpin academic freedom at higher education institutions. These laws and policies are turning schools and campuses into ideological battlegrounds where basic rights are under assault and longstanding educational freedoms are being undermined.
At last night's concert in Miami, Florida, PEN America teamed up with acclaimed singer-songwriter P!nk to give away 2,000 banned books and draw attention to the book banning crisis across the country. We're keeping the party going at tonight's show, and raising our glasses together as we stand up against censorship.
The war in Gaza has resulted in a devastating loss of civilian lives and has challenged both human rights and free expression. PEN America condemns human rights violations and urges universities and the literary and cultural communities to robustly defend the free exchange of ideas. Learn more about how PEN America is responding to the conflict, and promoting the free exchange of ideas and beliefs in times of war. On our special issue page, you can find resources for combatting anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, and antisemitic hate on campus. Also, see our latest statements on campus free speech and protecting journalists.
This week’s Member Spotlight features Forbidden Voice by PEN America Member Onder Deligoz. A story of a borderless love that blooms from wounded souls, and a scream that echoes in the darkness of a deep well, Deligoz writes the story of Hifza, a Syrian girl who survives the brutality of terrorism only to find herself bound by crises of identity and love.
Speaking Up of Staying Silent: Rethinking Institutional Speech
Thursday, Dec. 7 | 2:00 pm ET
Online
In the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict many institutions grappled with whether to make public statements about their institutional values. Many statements (or lack of statements) were poorly received, or leaders were pushed to make a second, or even a third restatement on the events – leading many leaders to rethink the merits of using their voice. Join a panel hosted by the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement and PEN America and moderated by Lara Schwartz. Panelists include leaders Neijma Celestine-Donnor, John Silvanus Wilson, and Tom Ginsburg.
In Raj Tawney’s debut memoir, Colorful Palate, food is time travel. As a young man born into an Indian, Puerto Rican, and Italian-American family, and a world that treated him cruelly as a mixed-race child, Tawney finds comfort and wonder cooking in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. In conversation with PEN America, Raj Tawney speaks on intersectionality, discovery, and the writing process of Colorful Palate.
We've compiled a list of over 30 titles by Native American authors, poets, and translators to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. This list offers recommendations in nonfiction, children's literature, short stories, memoir, poetry, and more. Spend some time this month reading stories from indigenous voices.
Moira Marquis, PEN America Prison and Justice Writing senior manager, spoke about our recent report on prison censorship. (The Guardian)
Digital Safety director Viktorya Vilk joined the "Are We Doing Tech Right?" podcast to discuss PEN America's report Shouting Into the Void. (Connect Safely)
Ali Velshi's Banned Book Club brought best-selling authors David Baldacci and Michael Connelly together to discuss PEN America's new advocacy efforts in Florida. (MSNBC)
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel weighed in on how college campuses can sustain free speech in times of crisis (CNN)
WHAT WE'RE READING
P!nk to distribute banned books at Florida tour dates (The Guardian)
Opinion | How Are Students Expected to Live Like This on Campuses? (The New York Times)
She regrets nothing: A Q&A with fired Saline County librarian Patty Hector (Arkansas Times)
Steve Martin ‘so proud’ his book was banned by Florida school district (The Hill)
LeVar Burton Is Still Fighting For Your Right to Read (Esquire)
These 183,000 Books are Fueling the Biggest Fight in Publishing and Tech (The Atlantic)
"They think they're shielding their children. What they're actually doing is they're making their children more vulnerable, and they're making all the kids in their community more vulnerable despite the wishes of other families."
- Award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson on having her novels banned for addressing sexual violence
Grammy-winning pop star P!nk joined PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman on Instagram Live to chat about book bans, educational censorship, and the importance of diverse stories.
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