PEN Canada envisions a world where
writers are free to write,
readers are free to read,
and freedom of expression prevails
Amid growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in prisons, the Turkish government is accelerating the preparation of a draft law that will reportedly release up to 100,000 prisoners. This is a welcome step. Overcrowding and unsanitary facilities already pose a serious health threat to Turkey’s prison population of nearly 300,000 prisoners and about tens […]
Norwegian PEN, PEN International and ARTICLE 19 condemn the cruel decision to open a new criminal investigation against civil society leader and publisher Osman Kavala, immediately after his acquittal in the ‘Gezi Park’ trial yesterday. The European Court of Human Rights has previously found that his 928-day arbitrary detention violated his right to freedom of […]
Responding to the news that award-winning writer Aslı Erdoğan and renowned linguist Necmiye Alpay were acquitted of terror-related charges by an Istanbul court earlier today, Salil Tripathi, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee said: ‘We, the PEN community, are delighted with the wonderful news today from Turkey, which is all too rare: we celebrate the […]
Last December PEN Belgium/Flanders held a marathon reading of imprisoned author Ahmet Altan’s novel Ik zal de wereld nooit meer zien (I will never see the world again). 30 well-known Flemish writers stood in solidarity with Altan, reading the novel in its entirety. Altan remains in Silviri prison, where he is serving a 10-and-a-half year prison sentence. PEN Belgium/Flanders […]
The Turkish authorities must drop all charges against award-winning writer Aslı Erdoğan, who faces up to nine years and four months in prison for her writings, PEN International said today, ahead of an expected verdict on February 14 2020. Aslı Erdoğan was detained in August 2016 following a police raid on her apartment. She was […]
In the fall of 2019, PEN Canada collaborated with Ryerson’s Community Engaged Learning & Teaching (CELT) initiative and Literatures of Modernity graduate program in the Faculty of Arts to bring members of our Writers-in-Exile network into the classroom.
The following freedom of expression and media freedom organizations, strongly condemn the court’s interim decision on the Gezi Park trial to continue the detention of civil society leading figure Osman Kavala at the end of the third hearing of the case, on October 8, 2019.
This month, PEN Canada is proud to partner with İlkyaz, a monthly, literary platform that features works from writers in Turkey who are under the age of 35 and whose voices are rarely heard.
This month, PEN Canada is proud to partner with İlkyaz, a monthly, literary platform that features works from writers in Turkey who are under the age of 35 and whose voices are rarely heard.
This month, PEN Canada is proud to partner with İlkyaz, a monthly, literary platform that features works from writers in Turkey who are under the age of 35 and whose voices are rarely heard.
Finding the Words: Writers on Inspiration, Desire, War, Celebrity, Exile, and Breaking the Rules