8 October 2025 Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is gravely concerned about the detention of writer Naoise Dolan, one of several Irish citizens taking part in the Thousand Madleens flotilla. The flotilla was ...

2 October August 2025 Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is gravely concerned about the abduction of poet Sarah Clancy, one of several Irish citizens taking part in the Global Sumud Flotilla. The flotilla was ...

Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s pardon is a major step forward and a huge relief, FairSquare said today after his lawyer reported that the President had issued a pardon for the British-Egyptian national. FairSqu...

People from the Indian community, and others, are facing violence that was once unthinkable. We must not give in to the racists, says novelist Cauvery Madhavan

‘While we rejoice at the sight of Belarusian writers walking free after experiencing immense suffering, we utterly condemn their forced exile. The PEN community will continue to tirelessly campaign fo...

11 September 2025 – Türkiye is increasingly throttling social media platforms and messaging apps to silence online communication at moments of profound political or social importance. PEN Internationa...

Irish writer Naoise Dolan has announced that she will be boarding the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the siege on Gaza. Read more from Dan Sheehan on Lit Hub here. Poet Sarah Clancy  has also announce...

The arrest yesterday in the UK of dozens of peaceful protestors, including the world renowned poet Alice Oswald, seems excessive and heavy-handed. While noting that Palestine Action is currently a pro...

Woman, Life, Freedom

Victoria Amelina wins with her unfinished book Looking at Women Looking at War while Donal Ryan takes the award for political fiction with an intimate portrait of an Irish town

30 June 2025 – English PEN, Scottish PEN, Wales PEN Cymru and PEN International are deeply concerned by the UK government’s proposal to proscribe the protest group Palestine Action under terrorism leg...

‘If I must die, I want a resonant death… a death that the whole world will hear’Fatima Hassouna, writer, photographer, and journalist killed in Gaza on 16 April 2025 We, the undersigned writers of the...

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann statement calls for release of hostages and protection of the lives and human rights of all innocent people

Dopo due mesi e mezzo in cui il blocco imposto da Israele ha spinto la Striscia di Gaza sull’orlo della fame, la ripresa si è trasformata in una catastrofe. Un fallimento annunciato. Leggi

Imprisoned Egyptian poet, lyricist, and pro-democracy activist Galal El-Behairy will receive the 2025 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on May 15 at its annual literary gala in New York City

Imprisoned Egyptian poet, lyricist, and pro-democracy activist Galal El-Behairy will receive the 2025 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on May 15 at its annual literary gala in New York City

Send a message of solidarity to imprisoned Egyptian poet and lyricist Galal El-Behairy

The Handmaid's Tale author was awarded the prize in partnership with Index on Censorship

Rümeysa Öztürk has been held for over six weeks after she co-wrote an opinion piece criticizing her school’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza

The Israeli government must immediately abandon its recently unveiled plans for expanded military operations including plans to annex territory and forcibly displace Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip, which would gravely violate international law, said Amnesty International today.   Israel has continued to commit genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreversible harm being inflicted […]

Internal government forecasts obtained by the Guardian reveal ‘truly shocking’ effects of planned cuts * UK politics live – latest updates The government’s planned disability benefit cuts will hit 700,000 families who are already in poverty, according to internal Department for Work and Pensions forecasts obtained by the Guardian. The figures, sourced under the Freedom of Information Act, are in addition to the projected 250,000 people who will be newly driven below the poverty line by the cuts, as set out by the government’s impact assessment in March. Continue reading...

7 May 2025: PEN International joins PEN Centres and free press organisations in a letter to Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States Government, urging him to support the release of impris...

Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was pronounced dead in Russian captivity in October 2024, after being secretly held for months in Russian-occupied Ukraine and a Russian prison. In February 20...

“We are deeply concerned for Alaa’s health and well-being in prison as he continues his hunger strike. We are all shocked to see the toll it has had on his mother, Laila, who has been previously hospi...

Book talk with Artist Gianluca Costantini, Elettra Stamboulis, and Julie Trébault, Executive Director of Artists at Risk Connection. Join us on Thursday, April 17th, at 7pm, for the presentation of...