books

Acting Chair’s message May 2026

PEN International launched its International Case List 2026 on 23 April 2026. Since 1960, case lists have been updated regularly. This year’s Case List is entitled Writers Under Siege: Defying Silence. The launch began with Head of Research, Policy and Advocacy Ross Holder’s sobering overview of a world where ‘space for expression, culture and dissentContinueContinue reading “Acting Chair’s message May 2026”

Banned books: Myanmar

In 2023, PEN America labels Myanmar ‘the world’s worst jailer of writers’. It might well be also called ‘the world’s worst book banner’. Under Aung San Suu Kyi’s nearly 10 years rule, as the military stepped back, the democratic experiment led to some freedom of expression, albeit ‘with the persistence of taboo issues, such asContinueContinue reading “Banned books: Myanmar”

Banned books: Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng

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”

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”