PEN America · [email protected]

January 8, 2025 at 9:22 PM

PEN America News: Is Free Expression at Risk?

1967 or 2025? Free speech trailblazers on resurgent educational censorship. Jan 8, 2025 PEN America Leaders Look to 2025 In the face of mounting threats to free expression in the United States and globally, PEN America leaders said that it’s essential to unite the literary community – and expressed …

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

December 31, 2024 at 5:01 PM

Last chance to fight censorship this year.

Your gift will be worth double until midnight. Dear Friend, The year is drawing to a close, and today is your last opportunity to have your gift matched. Every gift made today until midnight up to $65,000 will be worth double thanks to a generous donor. PEN America is working diligently to combat bo…

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  Gabby Chalk - PEN America · [email protected]

December 30, 2024 at 7:00 PM

Your gift will bring us into 2025 stronger than ever.

Make your donation before the end of the year. Dear Friend, The battle for free expression in the coming year will be fierce. Book bans are not slowing down, millions of students remain affected by restrictions on what can be taught in classrooms and the looming threat of federal censorship continue…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

December 24, 2024 at 3:00 PM

Help us protect schools from censorship laws.

The potential for an onslaught of legislative attacks to censor public education is likely in 2025. Dear Friend, We’re bracing for a dizzying array of legislative attacks in 2025—laws aimed at censoring what we can read, write, learn, and imagine, jeopardizing the bedrock of our democracy. The court…

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  Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf · [email protected]

December 22, 2024 at 6:01 PM

Join us to protect the freedom to read, write, and learn in 2025.

We need your help.Dear Friend, Since 2021, PEN America has tracked more than 16,000 instances of book bans in public schools, and seen 47 pieces of legislation passed in 23 states designed to restrict what can be taught and discussed in both K-12 and college classrooms.The effects are staggering. Wo…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

December 11, 2024 at 7:49 PM

PEN America News: A Taste of Home for Narges Mohammadi

The human rights defender, journalist, and author was granted a 21-day suspension of her sentence and transferred home. A Taste of Home for Narges Mohammadi We are relieved that imprisoned Iranian writer and activist Narges Mohammadi is home for a temporary reprieve to recover from a recent complica…

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  Gabby Chalk - PEN America · [email protected]

December 3, 2024 at 1:56 PM

Protecting Free Expression – Double Your Impact This Giving Tuesday

Will you stand with us?Dear Friend,  This Giving Tuesday, help PEN America keep dystopian fiction on the pages of our favorite books and out of our day-to-day lives. If you give today, every dollar donated up to $15,000 will be MATCHED, increasing the impact and reach of your generosity.  Donate PE…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

December 2, 2024 at 9:24 PM

Double your donation, double its impact.

Keeping fiction fictional. Dear Friend,  When we think of iconic dystopian novels like The Handmaid’s Tale, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and Brave New World, we recall not just their haunting worlds, but the powerful lessons they teach. Today, it’s hard to ignore how the lines between dystopian fiction a…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

November 29, 2024 at 3:31 PM

Our books, our choice.

Books can be powerful tools that connect us.Dear Friend,  As we enter the holiday season, we at PEN America are reflecting on all that we are thankful for, including the books that have shaped our lives–the classic stories we grew up with, and new modern classics. Yet, today, books by authors like G…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 27, 2024 at 2:02 PM

PEN America News: Writing as a Political Act

Writers represent the ability to imagine a different future. Writing as a Political Act Writers all too often become targets for restrictive regimes because of what they represent: the ability to imagine a different future. For the annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer, novelist and PEN America Vice P…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

November 24, 2024 at 5:01 PM

Give us more books, not bans.

More than 10K bans last school year. Dear Friend,   As we enter a new political landscape, the right to read is threatened like never before. Our latest report released earlier this month, Banned in the USA: Beyond the Shelves, recorded 10,046 instances of book bans in the 2023-2024 school year, ov…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 13, 2024 at 8:00 PM

PEN America News: Our Fight Has Only Begun

Project 2025 means a worsening environment for free expression, taking censorial legislation to the federal level. Our Latest: 10,000+ Book Bans As we face post-election concerns about free expression, our latest report on book bans documents an exponential increase in book bans in U.S. schools, wi…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 8, 2024 at 2:30 PM

We Are Ready To Go

Looking ahead, together post-election   Dear Friend,  There’s a lot of uncertainty and fear in the air about how the next four years could reshape the United States for decades. No matter who occupies the White House, PEN America will remain fearless, steadfast in the values that have served us for …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

October 30, 2024 at 8:06 PM

PEN America News: Books are on the Ballot

Stay tuned for our full report on school book bans, and join us in demanding an end to censorship.Don’t Censor America: Vote for Books With less than a week until the presidential election, we revealed that Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes was the most banned book of the 2023-24 school year. It foll…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

October 26, 2024 at 3:01 PM

No matter the outcome, PEN America will continue the work.

Threats to free speech in our polarized environment will not vanish no matter what happens on Election Day.Dear Friend,  Free speech is at stake this election season. But at PEN America, we have the power to make a difference no matter what happens. It will require concerted strategic efforts, and w…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

October 24, 2024 at 5:00 PM

Don't Censor America

Free speech is at stake this election season.Dear Friend,   Across the country, book bans are at an all-time peak; state legislatures are pushing draconian restrictions on curricula in classrooms; local journalism is gravely diminished as a trusted source of information; and disinformation is spread…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

October 16, 2024 at 6:45 PM

PEN America News: Join the Freedom to Read Day of Action

Join Us for the Freedom to Read Day of Action Book bans continue to skyrocket across the country – with more than 10,000 in the 2023-2024 school year. This Saturday, PEN America joins Unite Against Book Bans, the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn Public Library and other allies to show support f…

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  Maayan Dauber - PEN America · [email protected]

September 28, 2024 at 5:47 PM

It’s not too late to support PEN America this Banned Books Week.

Together, we can ensure that every student, in every school, has the freedom to read and learn. Dear Friend,   As we approach the end of Banned Books Week, PEN America has spent time mobilizing writers, readers, and activists to defend the freedom to read. With 10,000 books and counting banned in t…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

September 18, 2024 at 4:01 PM

PEN America News: Join Us for Banned Books Week

PEN America News: Join Us for Banned Books Week For Banned Books Week, we invite you to join the writers, readers and activists standing against censorship and support the freedom to read for all. View this email in your browser Sep 18, 2…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

September 4, 2024 at 9:30 PM

PEN America News: Are Campuses Ready for More Protests This Fall?

PEN America News: Are Campuses Ready for More Protests This Fall? Universities have a difficult task this fall. View this email in your browser Sep 4, 2024 A New Season of Protest on Campus …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

August 21, 2024 at 9:17 PM

PEN America News: 'A Perfect Recipe for Censorship' in Iowa

PEN America News: 'A Perfect Recipe for Censorship' in Iowa A new federal appeals court ruling is bad news for books in Iowa. View this email in your browser Aug 21, 2024 ‘A Perfect Recipe for Censorship’ …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

August 7, 2024 at 10:45 PM

PEN America News: Utah's No-Read List 👀

PEN America News: Utah's No-Read List 👀 A list of books banned statewide has been released. View this email in your browser Aug 7, 2024 A Dark Day for the Freedom to Read in Utah The Utah …

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  Kasey Meehan - PEN America · [email protected]

August 2, 2024 at 5:30 PM

Books are on the ballot.

There were more than 4,300 bans in the first half of the current school year alone. Dear Friend,   In April, PEN America released our latest research report on the state of book banning in American public schools, and the news is grim: there were more than 4,300 bans in the first half of the curre…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

July 24, 2024 at 6:30 PM

PEN America News: A Rallying Cry in Florida 📢

PEN America News: A Rallying Cry in Florida 📢 Jodi Picoult & Stacey Abrams joined the fight against censorship in Florida. View this email in your browser Jul 24, 2024 A Rallying Cry in Florida …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

July 10, 2024 at 9:15 PM

PEN America News: From Book Bans to Panic Attacks: Teachers Describe the Personal Toll

PEN America News: From Book Bans to Panic Attacks: Teachers Describe the Personal Toll View this email in your browser Jul 10, 2024 Teachers Describe Trauma in the War on Education Panic a…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

June 27, 2024 at 12:45 PM

PEN America News: How Lawmakers Strong-Arm Educators

PEN America News: How Lawmakers Strong-Arm Educators We are witnessing the power of the bully pulpit. View this email in your browser Jun 27, 2024 A Chilling Censorship Tactic Over the la…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

June 12, 2024 at 9:45 PM

PEN America News: Saving Literature in South Carolina

PEN America News: Saving Literature in South Carolina ...while Captain Underpants and The Giver make a banned list in Iowa. View this email in your browser Jun 12, 2024 Saving Literature in South Carolina …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

May 15, 2024 at 6:10 PM

PEN America News: Book Banners Take the Fight to Public Libraries

PEN America News: Book Banners Take the Fight to Public Libraries There is a growing cadre of activists who are attacking public libraries for providing LGBTQ+ literature and sex ed materials to people of all ages. View this email in your browser …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

May 1, 2024 at 9:56 PM

PEN America News: Record Number of Writers Jailed Worldwide

PEN America News: Record Number of Writers Jailed Worldwide Today we released our annual Freedom to Write Index, revealing an increase of more than 20% of writers unjustly imprisoned. View this email in your browser May 1, 2024 …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

April 17, 2024 at 9:51 PM

PEN America News: An Unprecedented Rise in Book Bans

PEN America News: An Unprecedented Rise in Book Bans More book bans in half the time. View this email in your browser Apr 17, 2024 Book Bans Surge Across the Country In the first half of t…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

April 3, 2024 at 10:30 PM

PEN America News: Cracks Are Showing in Florida

PEN America News: Cracks Are Showing in Florida Our new white paper shows how a groundswell of activism has helped the fight against discriminatory and censorial bills. View this email in your browser Apr 3, 2024 …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

March 20, 2024 at 9:44 PM

PEN America News: More Help for Writers in Crisis

PEN America News: More Help for Writers in Crisis View this email in your browser Mar 20, 2024 Emergency Grants for Palestinian Writers Today we announced that we are expanding our existing support to Pale…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

March 18, 2024 at 7:29 PM

Save the Date: Salman Rushdie on his latest novel, Knife, 4/16

Save the Date: Salman Rushdie on his latest novel, Knife, 4/16 Watch the conversation with Suleika Jaouad View this email in your browserPEN America and Random House Publishing Group are proud to present internationally renowned writer, free speech advocate, and Booker Prize winner Salma…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

March 6, 2024 at 8:37 PM

PEN America News: Don’t Say Rape – Censoring Sexual Violence

PEN America News: Don’t Say Rape – Censoring Sexual Violence In the last school year, a quarter of more than 3,000 book bans that PEN America recorded had scenes of rape or sexual assault. View this email in your browser Mar 6, 2024 …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

February 21, 2024 at 10:00 PM

PEN America News: Free Expression in a Time of War

PEN America News: Free Expression in a Time of War We hope for a mutually agreed upon ceasefire that can result in enduring peace. View this email in your browser Feb 21, 2024 Free Expression in a Time…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

February 7, 2024 at 10:00 PM

PEN America News: States Take Aim at Speech on Campus

PEN America News: States Take Aim at Speech on Campus Legislators seize this sensitive moment to double down on their campaign to censor campuses. View this email in your browser Feb 7, 2024 States Tak…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

January 24, 2024 at 8:00 PM

PEN America News: Fostering Discourse at Harvard and Beyond

PEN America News: Fostering Discourse at Harvard and Beyond This moment of crisis can be a catalyst for embracing a broad range of free speech on campus and beyond. View this email in your browser Jan 24, 2024 …

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  Katie Blankenship, PEN America Florida · [email protected]

January 11, 2024 at 8:00 PM

A win for the First Amendment⚖️

A win for the First Amendment⚖️ Because the Constitution still matters! View email in your browser PEN America's legal team joined by author George M. Johnson and Escambia resident plaintiffs on the steps of the Fifth Circuit Federal Cou…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

January 10, 2024 at 10:01 PM

PEN America News: The School District That Banned the Dictionary

PEN America News: The School District That Banned the Dictionary And yes, PEN America is in court fighting this absurdity every step of the way. View this email in your browser Jan 10, 2024 Our Lawsuit A…

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  Suzanne Nossel, PEN America · [email protected]

December 31, 2023 at 2:30 PM

Your last chance to defend free speech in 2023!

Your last chance to defend free speech in 2023! Only hours left to close out the year with a gift towards defending your liberties. View email in your browser Dear Friend, As we close out 2023, I’m writing one more time with a s…

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  Suzanne Nossel, PEN America · [email protected]

December 29, 2023 at 7:14 PM

2023 has been hard for all of us. Can we count on you?

2023 has been hard for all of us. Can we count on you? Help PEN America end the year strong. View email in your browser Dear Friend, With your support, we've achieved incredible milestones and made great strides toward sharing d…

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  Suzanne Nossel, PEN America · [email protected]

December 27, 2023 at 6:29 PM

Will free speech survive 2024?

Will free speech survive 2024? The work of PEN America has never been more important. View email in your browser Dear Friend, I know you must be receiving a lot of requests right now, but I'm writing to ask that you consider PEN …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

December 23, 2023 at 6:00 PM

Students suffer the most from censorship

Students suffer the most from censorship A staggering number of teachers have said censorial laws have affected what and how they teach. View email in your browser Dear Friend, When classes resume in 2024, we will be entering a b…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

December 19, 2023 at 7:44 PM

CRITICAL: Ensuring College Campuses are Open for All

CRITICAL: Ensuring College Campuses are Open for All Universities need to create spaces where students can cross boundaries, open up, tell their stories and be heard. View email in your browser Dear Friend, American…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

December 11, 2023 at 7:44 PM

📢 PEN America News: Congratulations to New PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan

📢 PEN America News: Congratulations to New PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan Plus we celebrate Nobel Peace Prize winner, Narges Mohammadi View this email in your browser Dec 11, 2023 We are …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

December 6, 2023 at 9:29 PM

A story can be a lifeline for a child.

A story can be a lifeline for a child. Protect the sanctity of diverse stories that mirror the real-life experiences of young people. View email in your browser Dear Friend, Literature has the power to bring people together and b…

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  The PEN America Membership Team · [email protected]

December 2, 2023 at 4:00 PM

Friend, Don't Miss Our 2023 Town Hall: Conversation Amid Crisis

*|FNAME|*, Don't Miss Our 2023 Town Hall: Conversation Amid Crisis Save the date for a conversation about free expression in a time of war View this email in your browser You're Invited! December 11, 2023 | 7pm ET / 4pm PT Liv…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 29, 2023 at 8:30 PM

PEN America News: How Florida and California Are Setting the National Agenda

PEN America News: How Florida and California Are Setting the National Agenda Ahead of the Newsom-DeSantis debate, we looked at the state of free expression in both states. View this email in your browser Nov 29, 2023 (…

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 28, 2023 at 9:29 PM

There is still time to champion the freedom to read and write.

There is still time to champion the freedom to read and write. Show up for PEN America this Giving Tuesday. View email in your browser Dear Friend, There is still time to make your Giving Tuesday gift.  …

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  PEN America · [email protected]

November 28, 2023 at 1:45 PM

P!nk reads banned books, do you?

P!nk reads banned books, do you? For students and for teachers nationwide, we urgently need your help. View email in your browser Dear Friend, In a heartfelt conversation with PEN America this month, singer-songwrit…

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