A showdown looms. PEN America is ready to fight.

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Dear Friend—

I’m writing to you today with a simple message: Defend free expression or we face extraordinary consequences. ([link removed] )

I am no stranger to book bans. No stranger to threats on my life and livelihood. Anyone who tells you that book bans aren’t dangerous is fooling themselves. The forces of censorship and outrage are not tame or innocuous.
FIGHT BACK AGAINST CENSORSHIP! ([link removed] )

In the U.S., cries for book burnings and eradication of texts from shelves may merely be a prelude to showdowns over free speech and democracy in the coming year. Anyone who thought a change in U.S. leadership would quell the flames of outrage is wrong.

But PEN America fights back, standing by me and my fellow writers every step of the way. And they haven’t just been playing defense. The World Voices Festival, set to return in the spring, bridges divides and fosters difficult but fruitful conversations among writers and readers. PEN America rallies writers across the country to speak out when their books are targeted, to stand up for the right to demonstrate and the right to speak—loudly and freely.

The year ahead must be met with a passionate willingness to defend what is right. PEN America lights the way forward. Your gift means everything. Donate what you can today. I, and all the writers who count themselves among PEN America’s community, thank you deeply. ([link removed] )

Regards,

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Salman Rushdie

PS – PEN America is running behind its 2021 goals. Anything you can contribute goes a long way. ([link removed] )
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