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Photo credit: Roberk Brooks
PEN International launches its Young Writers Committee
a global network of young writers, creatives, and cultural changemakers dedicated to amplifying youth voices and defending freedom of expression, with representatives from PEN Centres worldwide.
Photo Credit: Selfie by José Gabriel Barrenechea.
World Press Freedom Day 2025 - Take Action for José Gabriel Barrenechea
José Gabriel Barrenechea, a Cuban independent journalist and author, has been detained since November 2024 after participating in protests over Cuba’s energy crisis.
Identity on Trial: Persecution and Resistance
PEN International is proud to launch Identity on Trial: Persecution and Resistance – its Case List 2025, which highlights the increasing persecution of writers based on their identity. This year’s report documents the alarming rise in censorship, imprisonment, and threats faced by writers due to their gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. It underscores a disturbing global trend: those who dare express their identity or challenge dominant narratives are being silenced through legal threats, censorship, and violence.
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Photo Credit: Roberk Brooks
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Freedom of expression is deteriorating worldwide giving way to a rise in hate speech and oppressive legislation which threatens the lives and wellbeing of all kinds of writers, inc. poets, novelists, and journalists, as well as publishers. Meanwhile, writers, particularly women and those from marginalised communities, still need equal access and representation within the literary and civic spaces.
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We believe in everyone’s freedom to write and read, wherever they are in the world. Founded in 1921, today PEN International is recognised as the world’s foremost association of writers, as well as a leading international charity and expert on freedom of expression.