Rushdie’s surprise appearance was the highlight of an eventful month for PEN, the literary and free expression organisation that has been in the middle by choice and otherwise of various conflicts.
PEN America presents Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future, an afternoon of urgent public conversation on the issues that drive the world’s leading free expression advocacy organization in this dire moment. Led by PEN America President Ayad Akhtar and CEO Suzanne Nossel, the event, a highlight of the organization’s 100th anniversary year, gathers renowned authors who are at the forefront of fighting for truth, open discourse and unfettered storytelling: Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Dave Eggers, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Words on Fire: Writing, Freedom, and the Future takes place on Monday, September 12, from 4-7pm in the Robert H. Smith Auditorium of the New-York Historical Society (170 Central Park West). The museum is currently hosting the special installation PEN America at 100: a Century of Defending the Written Word, featuring artifacts, photos and letters from PEN America’s decades in defense of free speech.
A Ugandan court has allowed an arrest warrant to be issued for an international award-winning author who fled to Germany last month. Kakwenza Rukirabashaija ju
A Ugandan novelist accused of insulting President Yoweri Museveni has filed a lawsuit against the Ugandan government, alleging that soldiers tortured him.