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FOUND: Pen america - What They Never Told You

Culture War vs. 'Fart Books', Drag Queens Bring US Libraries To 'Breaking Point', Report Finds

US public libraries are facing significant challenges due to political interference, censorship, and funding cuts, with PEN America highlighting these issues as an existential threat to free expression.

International Business Times UK

US public libraries at ‘breaking point’ amid ideological attacks, report finds

PEN America study details verbal and physical threats to librarians, funding cuts and proliferation of book bans

The Guardian - US

‘We’re coming for the books’: Texas Lieutenant Governor threatens school ratings after libraries don’t remove ‘lewd’ books like ‘Les Misérables’

“The apathy is the most terrifying.”

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Free speech group calls foul play at prosecutors using Comey novel in case against him

PEN America condemns lawyers using passage from thriller to bolster claim ex-FBI director intended to harm Trump

The Guardian - US

Why not just ban all the books?

Keyword searches for "justice" and "pride" drive what ideas are being kept from kids

Salon

From her bookstore in Nashville, Ann Patchett drives the literary conversation

Ann Patchett often finds ways to help others, whether it's promoting a fellow author's book or supporting emerging writers

The Independent UK

Author Ann Patchett urges a 'breath' for books as PEN gala raises $2M amid ban surge

Author Ann Patchett and film producer Jason Blum are among those who spoke at PEN America's annual gala, which raised more than $2 million for the century-old literary and free expression organization

The Independent UK

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China remains the biggest jailer of writers worldwide, report finds

Report finds Iran witnessed sharpest increase in arrest of writers last year

The Independent UK

‘They’re trying to narrow the worldview of young people’: how book bans are on the rise in the US

Rising tide of censorship is spreading, reshaping what students are permitted to read, learn and think

The Guardian - US

Report shows banned non-fiction books doubled over last school year in US

New PEN America report analysed 3,743 unique titles removed from libraries and classrooms and found books about activism and social movements were targeted

The Guardian - US

Author ‘safety program’ launched after rise in harassment and threats

The group says it first noticed a rise in harassment against journalists a decade ago, around the time Trump was first elected president

The Independent UK

BJ Novak to host PEN America gala on May 14 at the American Museum of Natural History

The Independent UK

PEN America announce 2026 World Voices festival with Judith Butler and Bill McKibben

The 2024 festival was cancelled after multiple authors pulled out over the non-profit’s stance on the Israel-Gaza war

The Guardian - US

Free press organizations and journalists sound the alarm over Don Lemon’s arrest: ‘Journalism is not a crime’

‘Jailing a journalist for doing their job is dangerous — not only for press freedom, but for the public’s right to know,’ the National Press Club said on Friday.

The Independent UK

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The Independent UK

Film producer Jason Blum and author-bookseller Ann Patchett to receive PEN America awards

Oscar-nominated producer Jason Blum is set to receive the Business Visionary award from PEN America at its fundraising gala next spring

The Independent UK

The uptick in book banning has spread to the stage. Jodi Picoult is hitting back

The superintendent of Mississinewa High School in Indiana canceled a production of ‘Between the Lines’

Reason

Texas and Florida Have Become National Models for Using the Police State To Wage Culture War Battles

From library books to abortion, gender, and even food, the culture war is now feeding the police state.

Euronews

New PEN America report reveals Stephen King is the most banned author in US schools

The alarming new report by PEN America, titled "The Normalization of Book Banning - Banned in the USA, 2024-2025", offers a window into the extensive climate of censorship in the US.

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The Conversation

Many book bans could be judging titles mainly by their covers

Over the past decade, a growing movement to restrict access to books in public schools and libraries has spread across the country. Every year, there are hundreds of attempts to challenge or ban books, targeting thousands of titles.

The Guardian - US

‘Inappropriate’ comments about Charlie Kirk shooting lead to university firings

Free speech advocates accuse Republicans of ‘intimidation tactics’ as employees disciplined for sharing their views

The Texas Tribune

UT System will push to enforce campus protest bans that judge temporarily blocked

A judge said the university can’t be trusted to enforce a state law that bans overnight “expressive activity,” among other restrictions, in a constitutional way.

Al Jazeera

Trump says Smithsonian museums only cover ‘how bad Slavery was’ in US

US President says a review of the national museums will be similar to those he has ordered for universities.

The Guardian - UK

Why I withdrew my book from an LGBTQ+ literary prize

The Polari first book prize claims to promote trans rights and trans voices. But when I saw the longlist, I had to act, says Guardian writer Jason Okundaye

Al Jazeera

Protests held worldwide over Israel’s murder of Al Jazeera Gaza journalists

Global protests target Israel and media outlets who have ‘made excuses’ after killing of four Al Jazeera staff in Gaza.

The Guardian - US

‘Accelerated censorship’: advocates criticize US supreme court ruling on LGBTQ+ books

Opponents say the decision allowing parents to let their kids opt out of lessons featuring LGBTQ+ themes will hurt the US education system

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