Latest news
Yann Martel, Elif Shafak, Ali Smith, Olga Tokarczuk, and others, champion PEN International’s first ‘Literary Auction’
PEN International is proud to announce the launch of its first Literary Auction. This marks a new chapter in the history of the organisation, bringing together some of the world’s most celebrated writers in a collective effort to defend freedom of expression at a time when it is under unprecedented threat, with special gifts from Elif Shafak, Yann Martel, Ian Rankin, Ali Smith, Jane Hirshfield, Isabel Allende, Anthony Doerr, and Olga Tokarczuk.
PEN International launches Lenguas Vivas, a new project celebrating the vitality of Indigenous literary expression across Latin America. Presented at FIL Guadalajara 2025, the multilingual anthology — curated by Miguel Ángel Oxlaj Cúmez — features 26 authors from Mexico (Chiapas), Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala, with poetry published in Indigenous languages and Spanish self-translations.
Lenguas Vivas
PEN International’s Translations and Linguistic Rights Committee
Founded in 1978, the PEN International Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee (TLCR) works to defend linguistic diversity and promote translation as a vital act of cultural solidarity. From its early efforts to expand access to world literature to its pioneering advocacy for “minoritised” languages, the Committee has consistently challenged the political and cultural forces that marginalise languages and the communities that speak them.
Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2025
Each year on the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN International honours writers who are unjustly detained or persecuted for their words. From 15 November to 10 December, we stand in solidarity with four courageous voices who continue to speak truth in the face of repression: Rory Branker (Venezuela), Yalqun Rozi (China), Mohamed Tadjadit (Algeria), and Mzia Amaglobeli (Georgia).
#DayoftheImprisonedWriter #MohamedTadjadit #YalqunRozi #MziaAmaglobeli #RoryBranker
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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.