January 22, 2025
That’s Not Free Speech
President Trump’s flurry of executive orders promising to restore freedom of speech while chilling language about DEI and gender reveal the one-sided speech he’s interested in protecting. We agree that “government censorship of free speech is intolerable in a free society,” and fortunately, it’s prohibited by the First Amendment. Unfortunately, these executive orders are likely to have a broad chilling effect. They risk sending the message, for example, that no one applying for a government grant – including writers and artists – should be talking about “gender” or “equity.”PEN America is ready to stand alongside those under threat, and make it possible for all of us to launch a strong defense of free expression.
Read our analysis of Project 2025 >> [[link removed]]
"Let's not be naive" >> [[link removed]]
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Emergency Grants for LA Writers
PEN America has launched the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires Emergency Grant Program to respond to the needs of the writing community. We hope you’ll share with writers in need, and donate if you can.
Apply for grants >> [[link removed]] Donate to the fund >> [[link removed]] More resources >> [[link removed]]
The PEN Ten in 2025
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Readers of this newsletter may be familiar with the PEN Ten – our weekly interviews with authors, translators, poets, journalists and illustrators about craft, literature, and free expression. In 2025, the PEN Ten will continue to feature voices from around the globe on an array of topics and genres. Upcoming interviews for this year will feature winners of prizes such as the Nobel, Booker, and the World Fantasy Award, while still lifting up the works of early career and debut authors. To stay up-to-date with the PEN Ten interview series, follow PEN America on Instagram.
Read the latest interviews with Fiona Davis & Edward Underhill >> [[link removed]] Follow PEN America on Instagram >> [[link removed]]
This week’s Member Spotlight features Kingdom of No Tomorrow [[link removed]] by PEN America Member Fabienne Josaphat . From a PEN/Bellwether Prizewinner, a "beautifully convincing slice of history" novel about the Black Panther Party, perfect for fans of The Love Songs of W. E. B. Dubois . [link removed] [[link removed]]
We will be celebrating the release of Kingdom of No Tomorrow with a free, virtual discussion between Fabienne Josaphat and Barbara Kingsolver on Tuesday, February 13. Join us >> [[link removed]]
Get Kingdom of No Tomorrow >> [[link removed]]
View publications by PEN America members >> [[link removed]]
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Censorship Alert
Last year, Research Director James Tager broke down some of the biggest risks outlined in Project 2025 in a two-part report. And guess what? While President Trump’s campaign distanced itself from the playbook by the conservative think tank, many of its ideas were in Executive Orders issued hours after Trump took office. Like erasing words from federal documents.
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Online Writing Workshop: You Are a Writer
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Wednesdays in February
You Are A Writer is a series of free online workshops for early career writers. The series will introduce topics that are foundational to understanding and launching a literary career. This year’s series is dedicated to creative nonfiction writing and the stories we tell.
Learn more >> [[link removed]]
Josaphat x Kingsolver Discuss Kingdom of No Tomorrow on Free Webinar
[link removed] [[link removed]] Thu. February 13, 2025
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
Join us virtually for an evening celebrating Fabienne Josaphat , the winner of the 2023 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Josaphat will be in conversation with Barbara Kingsolver discussing her new novel, Kingdom of No Tomorrow (Algonquin).
Join us >> [[link removed]]
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Apply for the Emerging Voices Fellowship
We are accepting applications for the 2025 Emerging Voices Fellowship, given to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing world. Apply here >> [[link removed]]
Art Museum Directors on Censorship
Our latest report, based on a survey of art museum directors, found that most have faced pressure to censor art. The report, a collaboration between PEN America, Artists at Risk Connection, and the Association of Art Museum Directors, found mounting concerns about censorship in the art world. Read more in Hyperallergic >> [[link removed]]
Poets Across Lines
Kevin Sanchez came to write the stories he had been holding in for a while. Arlo Pate came to take their art seriously. RuthAnn wanted to get critiqued. Kevin L. Tarver came to be the poet he always wanted to be. Whatever their intentions, they all came to form the inaugural Poets Across Lines cohort. Watch the highlights and read their poems >> [[link removed]]
Fighting Anti-Trans Bias
We joined author Kyle Lukoff to call out "blatant anti-trans bias” in Escambia County, Florida, where one committee member voting to ban his book called it "errant and evil" and another labeled it "absolute indoctrination of transgenderism." Read more in the Tallahassee Democrat >> [[link removed]]
A Generous Gift
PEN America received a $1 million grant from Jeff Atwood , a software developer and co-founder of Stack Overflow, who said “I’ve seen the power of writing transform our world many times.” [[link removed]] [[link removed]] Check it out in the Chronicle of Philanthropy >> [[link removed]]
Influencers and Disinformation
About one in five U.S. adults get news from influencers. As part of our Disinformation Resilience Training Series, Kurt Sampsel spoke with journalist Robert Downen , actress and activist Malynda Hale , and podcast creator and host Bridget Todd about the biggest benefits – and biggest risks – of having influencers in the information ecosystem. [[link removed]] [[link removed]] Read what they had to say [[link removed]] >>
Free Speech Award
Our senior program advisor for Freedom to Read, Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson , is the recipient of the Children’s Book Council's first ever Free Speech Award. Read more in Publishers Weekly >> [[link removed]]
The Threat of Christian Nationalism
The PEN America Florida office hosted the first United Voices for Democracy community conversation at the Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ in Miami, welcoming more than 50 attendees into an interfaith discussion about White Christian Nationalism and the threat it poses to the freedom to read and democracy.
Burn This Book
Freedom to Read Program Director Kasey Meehan spoke about book bans, and the overall work of PEN America. Listen to the interview >> [[link removed]]
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“I’ve often played the mental game of wondering what I would grab if I only had a few minutes to leave my house, and I’ve always been stumped. I start with the box that contains jewelry I inherited from my mom, and then I just can’t think of what I’d take next. Everything seems important and nothing seems essential.”
- PEN Member Susan Orlean on evacuating her Los Angeles home
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