PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
For PEN’s 2018 Day of the Imprisoned Writer, we asked PEN members and supporters to send a message to a jailed writer. Marina Nemat writes to Nasrin Sotoudeh.
From PEN International 12 November 2018 – PEN International and PEN Uganda are deeply concerned by the recent arrest and ongoing trial of the prominent Ugandan academic, writer and activist, Dr. Stella Nyanzi. Nyanzi was arrested on 2 November 2018 and charged with “cyber harassment” and “offensive communication” following messages she allegedly posted on Facebook about President Yoweri […]
Goddard College has announced a $10,000 scholarship available to members of the three PEN North American centres for their MFA in Creative Writing. “The Goddard/PEN North American Scholarship, now in its third year, is the result of a partnership between Goddard’s low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program and PEN America, PEN Canada, and PEN Mexico, which together comprise the North […]
Released on the final day of PEN’s 84th annual congress, PEN’s report warns of “a rising tide of violence, impunity, extended pre-trial detentions, and surveillance” under the Modi government, of “punitive defamation laws [that] mute criticism”, nervous publishers who “have asked journalists to be less critical of authorities” and universities where a “climate of fear” has curbed student activism, rescinded invitations to controversial professors, andpurged textbooks that are deemed offensive.
Today marks day 145 of Sentsov’s hunger strike, which he began on 14 May to urge the Russian authorities to release all Ukrainian nationals currently imprisoned in Russia on politically motivated grounds. A letter written by Sentsov, first posted here, explains he has been forced to end the hunger strike as his health is in ‘critical condition.’ The […]
Available in Arabic. October 8, 2018 – PEN International is deeply concerned about the well-being and safety of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi writer who disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018. Six days later no official information has been disclosed about the whereabouts of Khashoggi. There are unconfirmed reports that he […]
PEN Canada pays tribute to the life and work of Margaret Atwood and Graeme Gibson.
Today PEN Canada condemned the government of Ontario’s invocation of Section 33 of the Charter of Rights, the Notwithstanding Clause, to sideline a Superior Court justice’s ruling that it had infringed on freedom-of-expression rights protected by the Charter.
Humber supports PEN Canada’s mission to champion freedom of expression and to value the indispensable role writers play in our civic and cultural life.
Being a refugee is not easy but in spite of all the challenges, I feel safe from the shadow of death, which had been following me in my country, threatening my dreams and my life.
Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules