English PEN

We are the founding centre of the international association of writers. We promote the freedom to write and the freedom to read.

Instagram: @ englishpen_

[English PEN @englishpen]

English PEN will cease posting on Twitter/X from 27 February 2025, together with many other PEN centres.

Find out why and where to follow us at the link below 👋
https://t.co/kuCl51IbIA

[English PEN @englishpen]

We are very concerned that our former resident Nurcan Kaya is among those who have been detained and join @pen_int in condemning this latest crackdown.

[PEN International @pen_int]

#Türkiye: We utterly condemn the latest crackdown on Kurdish, opposition, and minority voices – including writers, journalists, and artists – and urge the release of all those held for their peaceful expression

https://t.co/4V9a6VkZo8

[Yassmin Abdel-Magied @yassmin_a]

My first official @LondonBookFair appearance! Cannae wait, inshallah!

[Sana Goyal Kotecha @SansyG]

I’ll be chairing a panel on publishing responsibly in times of conflict — in conversation with @yassmin_a, @berhe_lucy, @BibiBakareyusuf

3pm, 12 March, LBF 2025

[English PEN @englishpen]

The English PEN Literary Salon returns to @LondonBookFair on Wednesday 12 March 2025 for six panel discussions on the intersections of literature, equity, and freedom of expression. #LBF25

Browse this year’s programme ⤵️
https://t.co/ZKAnqaTxQR

[English PEN @englishpen]

We welcome this important statement from UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer on the unjust detention of British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd el-Fattah in Egypt. His continued imprisonment is a grave injustice – urgent action is needed to #FreeAlaa.

[Keir Starmer @Keir_Starmer]

Having met Laila Soueif this week, my message is clear. I will do all that I can to secure the release of her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah and reunite him with his family.

We will continue to raise his case at the highest levels of the Egyptian government and press for his release.

[English PEN @englishpen]

A year ago, UK indie bookshops held events to raise money for the PEN Emergency Fund to support writers at risk who are in and from Palestine. #Valentines4Palestine

Thanks to your help, we raised over £15k – but we still need your support. Donate here ⤵️
https://t.co/9gWsCci9sI

[English PEN @englishpen]

We are outraged by the detention of booksellers Mahmoud Muna and Ahmad Muna by the Israeli authorities and demand their immediate release. We are in solidarity with our colleagues and condemn this ongoing repression.

[PEN International @pen_int]

#OPT: We condemn the arrest of Palestinian author Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmad Muna, owners of Jerusalem’s Educational Bookshop. We call for their immediate release amid the ongoing crackdown on Palestinian voices. @Pen_mena
https://t.co/Uzb8H7mwUO

[PEN International @pen_int]

We urge #Serbia to uphold the right to peacefully protest and ensure the safety of journalists who continue to be threatened and vilified for reporting on nationwide demonstrations. Read our statement ⬇️https://t.co/LC4JMyEuWC

[PEN International @pen_int]

#Türkiye: PEN member Pınar Selek stands trial again in Istanbul tomorrow. Selek has been persecuted by the authorities for 26 years – half her life. Her politically motivated ordeal must end once and for all

https://t.co/8WiDuGouhq

@Pinar_Selek

[Poetry Translation Centre @PoetryTranslate]

We are so honoured and delighted that TWO of our future titles have won #PENTranslates awards! Watch this space for poetry from Singapore and Somaliland coming soon.

[PEN International @pen_int]

#China: One year ago today, writer Yang Hengjun, an Australian citizen, was handed down a suspended death sentence by the #PRC government. Amid reports of his worsening health, we renew our call for his immediate and unconditional release. Read our statement⬇️
https://t.co/5vqw9Sd2N7

Image credit: Badiucao

[Selkies House @SelkiesHouse]

Congratulations to author of BLUE MOON, #DamirKarakaš, and his translator from the #Croatian, #EllenElias-Bursać, on their ⁦⁦@englishpen⁩ award, announced today.

“A story that must be told, no matter the price”—MiljenkoJergović

#indiepublishing #fictionintranslation

[Tilted Axis @TiltedAxisPress]

We’re honoured that TWO of our titles have won #PENTranslates awards, thank you @englishpen for including us in this fantastic list!

Congratulations to Geentanjali Shree & Daisy Rockwell for OUR CITY THAT YEAR, and to Yuliana Ortiz Ruano & Madeleine Arenivar for Carnaval Fever!

[And Other Stories @andothertweets]

🎉 Congratulations to translators @stefantobler and Ken Babstock and thank you to @englishpen. We cannot wait to bring readers more poetry by Lutz Seiler with Forty-Kilometre Night! 🎉

[English PEN @englishpen]

@prototypepubs @FitzcarraldoEds @hoperoadpublish @SelkiesHouse @FoundryEditions @TheEmmaPress @LatAmB @Duckbooks @LW_Books @TiltedAxisPress @andothertweets @BloodaxeBooks @DeadInkBooks @PoetryTranslate @gollancz @tracepress

[English PEN @englishpen]

We’re delighted to announce that 19 titles from 17 regions and 13 languages have won #PENTranslates awards. They include, for the first time, a title from Somaliland.

Discover the winners ⬇️
https://t.co/eUpZUIiyAr

[Free Alaa @FreedomForAlaa]

Day 123 of Laila Soueif's hunger strike.

She was outside Downing Street again this morning, still waiting for news from the Prime Minister on the release of her son.

She was joined by @HelenaKennedyKC and @Can_Yeginsu. Laila will continue to return to Downing Street for as long as she can.

[English PEN @englishpen]

'And I see us working to preserve our memories, so that we don’t forget what happened, and learning to see past the holes in our buildings and ourselves.'

In #PENTransmissions, Tetyana Teren on time in London with Victoria Amelina (tr. Larissa Babij).
https://t.co/TTDj9GFoV7

[Free Alaa @FreedomForAlaa]

Today, at a UN UPR session in Geneva scrutinising Egypt's human rights record, the UK government publicly stated for the first time that Alaa Abd el-Fattah's sentence has ended and that his continued detention is “unacceptable”.
https://t.co/fEEjDX6uxO