Writers sign open letter calling on the British government to take action to safeguard freedom of expression in India ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK later this week.

This is an edited extract from two essays by James Kelman relating to Turkey and Kurdistan, contained in his collection, And the Judges Said… and other essays [Polygon Books 2008] and is being reprinted here with the writer’s permission. The first “Freedom for Freedom of Expression Rally”, organised by a 200-strong group of artists and activists took place in Istanbul […]

by Jean Rafferty It was a senseless death, senseless in the way all sudden deaths are to those left behind, but senseless beyond that for the irony, the waste, the sheer stupidity of it. On 19 th January 2007 in Istanbul, Hrant Dink, editor of Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos, was gunned down by a young Turkish nationalist […]

“Armenian Whispers” – Worldwide reading to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide Led by the International Literature Festival Berlin and the Lepsiushaus Potsdam, there will be a worldwide reading on 21st of April from “The Book of Whispers” by Varujan Vosganian to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. In addition to remembering the victims of this horrible event, […]

by Jenni Calder Scottish PEN’s annual International Women’s Day event, organised jointly with the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for the Advanced Studies in the Humanities, is always stimulating and enjoyable. This year’s, which took place on 6 March, was a feast of the unexpected, the challenging and the entertaining. Our six writers lead us into […]