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October 15, 2025
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Atwood, Takei Headline Banned Books Week Events
Banned Books Week 2025 featured events with Margaret Atwood , George Takei and many others to raise awareness of book bans. While the week is over, it's not too late to take action against the wave of censorship that continues to plague American schools.
See the highlights >> [[link removed]] Read Atwood’s remarks >> [[link removed]]
Sign the letter >> [[link removed]]
Urging the Supreme Court to Hear Book Ban Appeal
In a new amicus brief that includes testimony from banned authors, we urged the Supreme Court to overturn an “alarming” opinion by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed book removals from the Llano County, Texas, public library. If the high court grants review of the lower court ruling, it would be the first case on book bans before the justices in 43 years.
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Apply Now for Emergency Funds
PEN America’s U.S. Writers Aid Initiative offers grants for writers in the United States facing acute financial need following an emergency situation. Applications are open to fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists.
Apply by November 13 >> [[link removed]]
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This week’s Member Spotlight features Turncoat by PEN America member Molly Bendall . Turncoat , Bendall's sixth collection of poetry, employs a paranoid syntax meant to evoke oppressive surveillance. This series of intimate and darkly humorous poems presses the speaker to continually adapt to unseen—or even nonexistent—dangers. [link removed] [[link removed]]
Check out Turncoat >> [[link removed]]
More 2025 publications by PEN America Members >> [[link removed]]
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Thu. October 30, 2025 | 3:00 PM ET
Online
Free
Join us for a discussion with composer Huang Ruo , Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang , and the Chinese Heritage Foundation’s Pearl Lam Bergad to dig deeper into the layers of translation that bring The Monkey King (猴王悟空) to life in this pulse-of-the-moment contemporary adaptation.
Learn more >> [[link removed]]
Leading the Way: Building Safer Newsrooms for Journalists
Thu. November 13, 2025 | 12:00 PM ET
Online | Free
Join us for a conversation about how news organizations can better protect and support journalists facing online harassment and other safety challenges. Whatever the size or your newsroom, you’ll leave this session equipped with practical, actionable steps for how to protect your people.
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Has your favorite book been banned?
Our new report The Normalization of Book Banning [[link removed]] revealed nine titles were banned at least 17 times. These include several #1 New York Times bestsellers, one National Book Award winner, and several more widely acclaimed and beloved titles.
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‘It Takes Away Your Hope’
PEN America president Jennifer Finley Boylan sat down with ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos to discuss our new report, The Normalization of Book Banning [[link removed]] , which shows there are more banned books than any living American has seen in their lifetime. Watch >> [[link removed]]
Book Bans Are About Access
Kasey Meehan chatted with USA Today to clear up some common misconceptions about book bans in America, and define what PEN America considers a ‘ban.’ Read more >> [[link removed]]
‘The Dominoes Are Being Set Up’
A new federal document asks universities to agree to significant restrictions without specifying what they’ll gain—or lose—for refusing. Amy Reid says this raises alarm for all higher ed institutions. Read more >> [[link removed]]
Shielding Your Inbox
[[link removed]] After Katherine Locke published What Are Your Words, a book that introduces children to the idea that pronouns can change, they became the target of a coordinated online harassment campaign of message bombing, threats, and hateful speech. Our new Email Safety Toolbox provides writers like Locke and their allies guidance on how to protect their physical and psychological safety while using email. Read more >> [[link removed]]
Read an interview with Locke >> [[link removed]]
Truth-Telling Is Not a Crime
On the five-year anniversary of writer and journalist Pham Doan Trang ’s arrest in Vietnam, PEN America and an international coalition of non-governmental organizations urged the literary community to demand the Vietnamese government release her immediately. Read more >> [[link removed]]
Speaking Up for Saudi Writers at Risk
The participation of American comedians in the Riyadh Comedy Festival sparked controversy and debates about what it means for artists to participate in a festival that is sponsored by the Saudi government given its repressive record on freedom of expression. Writers, journalists, artists, and all of us must remind each other that freedom of expression is a universal human right, and we must defend those at risk and in jail for exercising it in Saudi Arabia and wherever they are under assault.
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"When you see a librarian, express your gratitude and let them know that you support them. If they ever need any help, give them your number so they can reach out and get your support."
— Texas librarian Becky Calzada, winner of the Eleanor Roosevelt Literary Freedom Award [[link removed]]
Donate to PEN America [[link removed]]
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