1 December, 2025: Scottish PEN stands in solidarity with writers, artists and activists arrested in Scotland and charged under the Terrorism Act for protesting in support of the ideal of one humanity living in peace in one world. These protesters include acclaimed Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty and Scottish PEN’s Vice President, Lizzie Eldridge. We support […]

Lizzie Eldridge, the chair of Scottish PEN’s Writers At Risk Committee, was recently interviewed by Palestine International Broadcast in her capacity as a writer and activist.  The discussion covered many aspects as the horrors taking place in Gaza, including the recent arrest for protesting in Edinburgh of award-winning Scottish screenwriter, Paul Laverty, the targeting of journalists […]

Ken Loach and Paul Laverty standing in solidarity with activists at the Edinburgh Film Festival Today, 26 August, 2025, Scottish PEN released the statement below on the arrest of award-winning Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty, giving its full support to him and other writers and citizens who would exercise their rights to freedom of expression and […]

Scottish PEN is supporting the Scottish Poetry Library in the presentation of two events in August.

On Saturday, 25 January, The Times published an article by senior news reporter Marc Horne, regarding the release of security service files that have recently been opened and placed in the UK National Archives at Kew. These documents disclosed that MI5 and the police monitored James Findlay (JF) Hendry, the poet, editor and writer for decades over […]

image credit: Lilian Wagdy, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s vital writing in his collected works, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated is like an explainer of why the principles of the PEN International Charter are so vital. Scottish PEN is proud to join PEN International, fellow PEN Chapters, Reporters Without […]

Scottish PEN is deeply concerned about reported police aggression towards peaceful protesters at Thales Arms Factory, Govan, on Wednesday 15 May 2024. The protest peacefully and successfully closed down Thales Arms Factory that day in an effort to draw attention to and disrupt the company’s production of components for Israeli military drones, used in Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

Scottish PEN member Peter Clive submitted the following poems in reply to our recent post, Scottish poets respond to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. We encourage further poetic and literary submissions as our organisation continues to raise awareness of the situation and campaign for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.