April 2, 2025
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Everything They Don’t Want You to Say
A growing list of words is being scrubbed from government websites and documents to remove all references not only to diversity, equity and inclusion, but also to climate change, vaccines, and a host of other topics. PEN America compiled a list of more than 250 words and phrases reportedly no longer considered acceptable by the Trump administration, from “abortion,” to “women,” and including “disability,” “elderly,” “Native American” and, unsurprisingly, the “Gulf of Mexico.”
See the list >> [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Apply Now for Literary Grants
Applications for PEN America’s literary grants are open until June 1. The grants are juried by panels of esteemed and award-winning writers, editors, translators, and critics who evaluate works-in-progress for their potential for lasting literary impact.
Apply today >> [[link removed]] Meet the 2025 winners >> [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
This week’s Member Spotlight features Bookstore Romance: Love Speaks Volumes by PEN America Member Judith Rosen . A bookselling journalist, Rosen interviewed 24 couples who tell their stories about how they planned and celebrated their engagements and weddings in independent bookstores. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. [link removed] [[link removed]]
Check out Bookstore Romance >> [[link removed]]
View publications by PEN America members >> [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Students Stand Up for Reading
A brave student joined our protest of some of the most rigid and restrictive reading bans in the country in St. Francis, Minnesota. What got us was the way the other students stood up for her – literally.
Read more about the protest >> [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
Wed. April 16, 2025
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM ET
ONLINE
Involved in a movement or organization that supports the freedom to read? Taking action against book bans, censorship, or restrictions in schools? Just getting started? This workshop with the Texas Freedom to Read Project and PEN America’s Jeje Mohamed will share top-level guidance on assessing risk and taking action to keep your coalition safe in an uncertain environment.
Learn more >> [[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
Condemning Student Detentions
PEN America joined The Student Press Law Center and nine other free speech and journalism organizations to condemn the detention of Rumeysa Ozturk , reportedly based on opinions expressed in a student newspaper op-ed. The State Department revoked 300 or more student visas, many for students who attended pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. ( Read the letter [[link removed]] )
Fighting Disinformation
Disinformation is a growing crisis for free expression. Our new report, Exploring How to Build Community-Level Resilience Against Disinformation , explains our novel approach: tackling a global problem by investing in local and regional initiatives, citizens, and communities. In three rapidly growing, diverse metropolitan areas, we trained people to recognize disinformation and have difficult conversations with who spread it. ( Read the report [[link removed]] )
South Carolina Could Lead Statewide Bans
South Carolina could still lead the nation in statewide book bans after the state Board of Education tabled a decision on 10 challenged books. . The titles are largely for young adult readers by women and LGBTQ+ authors that focus on diverse groups or difficult real-world topics. But the students of DAYLO are a ray of hope. ( More on South Carolina [[link removed]] ) ( Meet the students fighting back [[link removed]] )
Journalist Safety Urgent Care Helpline Extension
In an increasingly hostile environment for the free press, the Journalist Safety Urgent Care Helpline has been extended through the first 100 Days of the Trump administration. PEN America has joined forces with leading safety experts and organizations to provide U.S. journalists and newsrooms with one-on-one and newsroom-wide safety consults for digital, physical, psychosocial, and legal safety concerns. To get help, email [email protected] [[email protected]] with the word “SAFETY” in the subject line.
SOS for Museums and Libraries
The gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the overhaul of the Smithsonian Institution to restore “truth and sanity to American history,” and threatened cuts for the National Endowment of the Arts all weaken our nation’s libraries and museums and continue the Trump administration’s attempt to reshape America’s culture and historic narrative. We call on Congress to ensure our cultural institutions remain strong, independent, and robustly funded. ( Read the joint open letter [[link removed]] )
Silencing Voice of America
The Trump Administration’s executive order gutting the U.S. Agency for Global Media leaves writers and journalists at risk around the world. PEN America is especially concerned about the journalists and writers working with Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who were already in prison in Russian-occupied Crimea, Myanmar, and Vietnam – now stranded without external support. ( Read about the writers [[link removed]] )
Recommended Reading
When everything is terrible, read a book! We interviewed Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah and Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree about their new books, Theft and Our City That Year. We also spoke to Saou Ichikawa about the need for disabled voices in literature and Hunchback , the new translation of her Japanese novel by Polly Barton . For our Shelf Love series, Dylan Allen spoke about the liberating and transformative power of romance novels. ( Read the interviews [[link removed]] )
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
[[link removed]]
“A number of people in elected office have gotten extraordinarily comfortable with the idea that they should use that office to control the spread of ideas and information.”
— Jonathan Friedman , PEN America Sy Sims Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs
Donate to PEN America [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
PEN America
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
United States
PEN America- Washington, DC:
1100 13th Street, NW, Washington, DC xxxxxx
PEN America- Los Angeles :
1370 N. Saint Andrews Place, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Edit your email preferences or unsubscribe: [link removed]