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Friend —
I hope you had the chance to read this important message from PEN America’s CEO Suzanne Nossel about the organization’s fight against banned books across the country. As President of PEN America and a writer myself, this is a cause close to my heart. Salman Rushsdie’s The Satanic Verses, a target of book bans for decades, was one of the formative texts of my early adult life, and I am more energized than ever to support PEN America in their fight for freedom of expression.
Please join me in supporting PEN America’s critical fight against book bans today.
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With gratitude,
Ayad Akhtar
PEN America President
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Friend —
This Banned Books Week, stand with us in our fight against waves of censorship in libraries and schools. Books yanked from the shelves include iconic literary works: Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale, and more than 1,600 other titles this year alone.
PEN America is at the forefront of the fight.
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In the last year, PEN America has redoubled its efforts:
- We’ve published Banned in the USA, which features hard-hitting, up to the minute counts and analyses driving the national conversation on book bans and documenting over 2,500 instances.
- We’ve worked with parents, teachers, and community leaders to fight bans at the local level nationwide.
- We’ve celebrated, empowered, and amplified authors whose works are banned.
- We’ve worked with advocates in Washington D.C., state houses, and school boards to fight anti-library bills, book bans, and other censorious legislation.
Book bans overwhelmingly target writers of color and LGBTQ+ narratives, erasing identities and threatening the right to read. Don’t let this right be stolen from the next generation.
Books are a cornerstone of a thriving democracy. Please help us by supporting this fight.
With gratitude,
Suzanne Nossel
PEN America CEO
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