At a March meeting of the PEN International Women Writers Committee, Sotiria Georganti focused on a selection of banned books around the world and spotlighted Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (1915–2009). As a memoir documenting the Red Guards’ cruelty and the Chinese Cultural Revolution’s chaotic nature, it is prohibited for sale inContinueContinue reading “Banned books: Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng”
Tag Archives: books
Chair’s message February 2026
Dear members and fellow travellers Welcome to 2026. We began the year with a letter from a writer recently released from prison. We are not able to share their name, but we can share their words: “Let me start by thanking PEN International … and all the writers and artists who united in solidarity forContinueContinue reading “Chair’s message February 2026”
Boualem Sansal: A victory for freedom of expression… and a reward
Eighty-year-old Franco-Algerian writer and journalist Boualem Sansal was arrested in November 2024 by Algerian authorities on trumped-up charges of ‘undermining national unity’ and ‘attacking state institutions’ after suggesting in an interview with the extreme-right wing media Frontières, France had unfairly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the colonial era.[1] This territorial issue has soured French–AlgerianContinueContinue reading “Boualem Sansal: A victory for freedom of expression… and a reward”
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