PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
PEN Delhi and PEN International note with deep concern the attack on three journalists from The Caravan on August 13th, 2020. At about 2 pm, on the day, a group in Subhash Mohalla, North East Delhi’s North Ghonda neighbourhood, attacked The Caravan reporters Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh, and a woman journalist (who asks not to be named […]
Poet Em Dial wins PEN Canada’s New Voices Award for 2020 August 27 (Toronto) Emily (Em) Dial has been chosen as the winner of PEN Canada’s 2020 New Voices Award. Dial, whose winning entry is titled Lineage Without the Bullets, won the $3,000 prize out of a total of 175 submissions from writers and poets […]
PEN Canada intervenes in OSC case regarding Section 91 of Elections Act New section includes prohibitions and penalties that violate Charter right to free expression TORONTO (August 25) PEN Canada has been granted permission by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to intervene in the Canadian Constitution Foundation’s (CCF) challenge to the constitutionality of section […]
PEN International is concerned by reports that Jimmy Lai, pro-democracy activist and owner of prominent Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, has been detained with eight others on national security charges. Lai’s arrest, which coincides with raids on his media company, Next Digital, and the arrest of his two sons, marks the latest example of the newly enacted […]
RAPID ACTION NETWORK RAN No. 06/20 4 August 2020 PEN International calls for the immediate dropping of all charges against Zimbabwean author and filmmaker, Tsitsi Dangarembga. PEN has received reports that Dangarembga was peacefully protesting corruption on Friday July 31, 2020 in Harare when she was arrested by members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police with […]
PEN International and PEN Chile condemn legal actions taken against the activists and artists of LASTESIS, authors of the performance piece “A rapist in your way”, which has been performed in more than 35 countries. These actions, brought by a branch of the Chilean police force, the Carabineros, put freedom of expression at risk and demonstrate […]
TORONTO (July 6) PEN Canada will today intervene in the Canadian Civil Liberties Association’s case against the provincial government. The CCLA’s lawsuit alleges that certain stickers mandated by law to be attached to gas pumps are a form of compelled political speech which violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The stickers – which […]
Update #4 to RAN 08/2018 PEN International is alarmed by reports that writer, journalist and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi may have contracted COVID-19 in Zanjan prison where she is serving sentences totalling 16 years for her rights activism. She suffers from underlying health conditions for which she has been denied adequate treatment, further increasing […]
Between July 7 and 11, 2020, 28 journalists and media workers have been attacked by demonstrators and police officers during demonstrations across Serbia. PEN International joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium and other free expression and media freedom organizations in calling for all attacks and threats to journalists to be investigated fully to […]
In times of crisis, we need more than ever to ensure that writers’ voices are heard. During the COVID-19 pandemic, PEN Canada has faced a steep decline in fundraising revenues. Margaret Atwood, the honorary Vice-President of PEN International has pledged to match up to $25,000 of your donations until we reach our goal of $50,000. […]
Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules