The Israeli military’s widespread destruction of Gaza’s cultural sites, libraries, museums, and universities has inflicted a catastrophic blow to Gaza’s cultural life and heritage and amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and offers evidence of genocidal intent, PEN America said in a new report, All That Is Lost, released today. The report examines the destruction or partial destruction of 36 cultural, historical, religious, and educational sites, and also includes three instances of deliberate book burnings and two cases of reported looting of archaeological artifacts.
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Charlie Kirk’s Murder Spurs McCarthy-Esque Crackdown on Free Expression
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In the days following the horrific shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, a broad campaign emerged to police speech about the incident online, leading to a spate of suspensions, firings, harassment, and doxing, some of it at the behest of elected officials. “There is a bitter irony in the fact that the death of someone who is being held up as an exemplar of free expression and civil debate is being used to justify the censoring of so many others,” PEN America’s Amy Reid told the Chronicle of Higher Education.
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Speak Up for Foreign Journalists and Students |
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The Department of Homeland Security has proposed reshaping how foreign journalists, international students, and exchange visitors live and work in the United States — leaving visa extensions to the discretion of immigration officials. PEN America strongly opposes this measure, which poses a direct threat to press freedom and would foster a climate of fear and self-censorship that may chill research, campus reporting, social media engagement, and other forms of free expression.
The government is accepting public comments through Sept. 29, so this is your chance to speak out in defense of free expression, academic freedom, and press independence. |
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This week’s Member Spotlight features Wild for Austen by PEN America member Devoney Looser. In this ultimate tribute to Jane Austen, Looser examines all six of Austen’s completed novels as well as her unfinished fiction, essays and poetry. Austen, we learn, was far wilder in her time than we’ve given her credit for, and Looser traces the fascinating and fantastical journey her legacy has taken over the past 250 years. |
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Fri. September 19
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM ET
ONLINE or In-person @ 92NY
Sam Sussman joins 92NY for the launch of his highly anticipated debut novel, Boy from the North Country — an emotionally searing story about loss, memory, love, and
Bob Dylan. In a conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winner and former PEN America President
Ayad Akhtar, Sussman will discuss his singular debut. | |
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Sat. September 27, 2025 11:00 AM CT ONLINE
Join Andy Thorburn, President Contemporary Policy Institute, Jenny Samuels, Litigation Counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State who argued the case before the Supreme Court, and Tasslyn Magnusson, Senior Advisor for Freedom to Read at PEN America, discuss the recent Supreme Court case, Mahmoud v. Taylor, and its ripple effects across public schools. |
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| ‘I think an educated public is quite capable of doing its own censoring.’
Honoring Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy of rejecting censorship, PEN America will co-present the Eleanor Roosevelt Awards for Bravery in Literature—celebrating 11 author-champions of intellectual freedom and the fight against censorship, including a Lifetime Achievement Award to Margaret Atwood. |
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A Rallying Cry to Protect Free Expression in the U.S at the 91st PEN International Congress in Kraków, PEN International presented a resolution condemning the escalating assault on free expression in the United States. The resolution, drafted in collaboration with PEN America, expressed grave concern that an expansive and widening array of government functions are being weaponized to suppress speech that the current administration disfavors. It passed with the overwhelming support of the assembly of delegates representing PEN centers around the world. See the resolution >>
Strangers on a Train Meets Freedom to Read
This week, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed the state’s Freedom to Read Act into law, joining a growing number of states that are passing laws to stop book bans and protect the right to read. Delaware State Rep. Krista Griffith said it all started with her chance meeting of PEN America Freedom to Read Program Director Kasey Meehan on a train. Read the story >>
Academic Freedom or Academic Responsibility?
After a Texas A&M University instructor was fired over a disagreement with a student about her curriculum content, Amy Reid remarked to the Chronicle of Higher Education that it is “absolutely stunning that the hammer has been brought down so hard and so fast on this situation.” Read more in the Chronicle >>
Uncertainty Over the Future of Open Debate
Jonathan Friedman spoke about the effect that Charlie Kirk’s killing will have on campus free speech. “So much in this political moment is about weaponizing and taking advantage and trying to score a win against the opposing side, but I don’t think that’s been terribly productive for the health of American society.” Read more in the AP >>
Recommended Reading
In this week’s PEN Ten interview, we talk with Sam Sussman about his debut novel Boy from the North Country and finding stability in one’s ever-evolving identity. Adapted from his 2021 essay “The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son,” Boy from the North Country weighs emotional truth and memory against facticity. Read the interview >>
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"We are witnessing the death of academic freedom in Texas, the remaking of universities as tools of authoritarianism that suppress free thought." |
— Jonathan Friedman, Managing Director of U.S. Free Expression Programs |
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