On the fourth anniversary of his imprisonment, we call on the UK government to do more to secure Raif Badawi’s release.

As an organisation charged with representing writers to ensure the fundamental freedoms to write, read and share thoughts, there are a number of aspects of the Investigatory Powers Bill that could threaten these freedoms were they to be made into law.

“Are we still Charlie?” 20th Feb 2015 Summerhall TV filmed our event at Summerhall in February, originally posted here. You can see pictures from the event on our Events page, and read a collection of Tweets from the event here on our blog.

Women on the Edge – International Women’s Day 2015 Over the course of this event, we conducted interviews with the participating writers, which you can listen to below. You can read further interviews with Cynthia Rogerson, Linda Cracknell and Elizabeth Reeder on our blog, as well as an introduction to the event, written by co-organiser […]

[View the story “January Roundup” on Storify]

Poets of Protest A number of films for Al Jazeera are made by the (now Edinburgh-based) young Iranian filmmaker, Roxana Vilk. On Wednesday 20 November, she will be presenting and discussing her work at a meeting of the Scottish Poetry Association, that will take place at the Scottish Poetry Library, Canongate, Edinburgh. Dr Mario Relich introduces her work and […]

Minutes of meeting of PEN International Women Writers Committee Reykjavik, September 9, 2013 The meeting, part of PEN’s International Congress, was chaired by Ekbal Baraka, Chair, assisted by former chairs Judy Buckrich and Lucina Kathmann; the Minutes were prepared by Lucina Kathmann. The pamphlet about the history of the Women Writers Committee was passed out. […]

Simona Grazia Dima is Secretary of Romanian PEN, a poet, essayist, literary critic and translator. In her introduction to her latest volume of poetry she presents the background to her writing – the political and cultural milieu, her ideas, ideals and in particular the extraordinary experience which led her to become the writer that she […]