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Utah bans 13 books at schools, including popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, under new law
Read full article: Utah bans 13 books at schools, including popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, under new lawThirteen popular books have been banned from all public schools in Utah in the first wave of bans expected under a new law that prohibits books when at least three of the state’s 41 school district boards claim they contain pornographic or indecent material.
PEN America, facing criticism over its response to the Mideast war, gathers for annual gala
Read full article: PEN America, facing criticism over its response to the Mideast war, gathers for annual galaPEN America gathered Thursday night for its annual gala, a high-profile event raised even higher because some wondered if it would be held at all.
Judy Blume, James Patterson and other authors are helping PEN America open Florida office
Read full article: Judy Blume, James Patterson and other authors are helping PEN America open Florida officeJudy Blume, James Patterson and Michael Connelly are among 24 prominent writers who have raised more than $3 million to help PEN America open a center in Miami and expand it efforts to counter Florida’s surge in book bannings in recent years.
Award-winning Ukrainian writer dies of injuries suffered in Russian missile attack on restaurant
Read full article: Award-winning Ukrainian writer dies of injuries suffered in Russian missile attack on restaurantThe PEN America rights group says award-winning Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina has died from her injuries suffered after a Russian missile attack on a popular restaurant last week.
Here’s a list of books banned, under review in Central Florida schools
Read full article: Here’s a list of books banned, under review in Central Florida schoolsThe 2022-23 school year is coming to a close, but students and teachers are still seeing people pushing to pull certain books from the shelves within districts across the nation.
Here are the books banned from Central Florida schools
Read full article: Here are the books banned from Central Florida schoolsIn the last year, there have been more than 2,500 instances of books being pulled from shelves in schools across the U.S. as conservative groups coordinate efforts to target books for numerous reasons, typically related to race or gender themes.
PEN America honors activists, artists and dissidents
Read full article: PEN America honors activists, artists and dissidentsFrom an imprisoned Ukranian journalist to a high school activist in Florida, PEN America paid tribute Monday night to democracy and free expression and warned about the dangers faced in the U.S. and abroad.
George C. Wolfe, Anne Carson win PEN achievement awards
Read full article: George C. Wolfe, Anne Carson win PEN achievement awardsFILE - Playwright George C. Wolfe attends a special screening of "Fences", in New York on Dec. 19, 2016. Wolfe and the Canadian poet-translator Anne Carson are among this years winners of PEN America awards for career achievement. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)NEW YORK – Tony Award-winner George C. Wolfe and Canadian poet-translator Anne Carson are among this year's winners of PEN America awards for career achievement. Ad“Among this year’s winners are revolutionaries, icons, and trailblazers,” PEN America’s Jane Marchant, director of the Literary Awards program, said in a statement. “By poetry, translation, screenwriting, dramaturgy, performance writing, and the art of editing, these honorees transform the arc of the literary canon and infuse it with striking originality.”The winners will formally receive their awards during an April 8 ceremony.
Penguin Random House, PEN America team up to Book the Vote
Read full article: Penguin Random House, PEN America team up to Book the VoteNEW YORK – Neil Gaiman, Anita Hill and Ann Patchett will be among the contributors to Book the Vote, an online initiative to provide information on the electoral system, voting registration and civic topics. Book the Vote is a collaboration among Penguin Random House, PEN America, the non-profit organization When We All Vote and the literary retailer Out of Print, which is owned by Penguin Random House. One feature is called “How America Works” and covers four topics: the right to vote, voting for the president, the Supreme Court and the electoral college. “Truth, facts, press freedom, and the future of open discourse are all on the ballot this November,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. Noseel and Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh said they were pleased to be working together to provide credible and authoritative information about the U.S. election and voting rights.
Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong to be honored by PEN America
Read full article: Chinese dissident Xu Zhiyong to be honored by PEN AmericaNEW YORK Xu Zhiyong, a prominent Chinese activist and legal scholar detained by the government since earlier this year, is being honored by PEN America. Xu's award comes on the 31st anniversary of the so-called Tiananmen Square Massacre, when Chinese soldiers shot and killed pro-democracy demonstrators. The 47-year-old Xu has strongly criticized Chinese leader Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak. You didnt authorise the truth to be released, and the outbreak turned into a national disaster, Xu wrote in February, shortly before he was detained. PEN will highlight Xu's life and work at its annual gala, scheduled for December 8 in Manhattan after being postponed from May because of the coronavirus.