PEN America warns that social media blowback and societal outrage are imposing new moral litmus tests on books and authors, chilling literary expression and fueling a dangerous trend of self-censorship that is shrinking writers’ creative freedom and imagination.
Well-known non-profit organization PEN America has initiated a report that warns the literary community against book cancellation due to outrage. Find details.
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.
• Adele will be dropping a new two-hour concert special on NBC next week, the network announced Thursday. "An Audience With Adele," hitting the network at 8 p.m. Sunday and streaming the following day on Peacock, sees the 15-time Grammy winner engage the audience in "an unforgettable night of music" at the London Palladium, marking her first hometown concert in five years, according to NBC. The televised event will also see fellow celebrities asking Adele intimate questions and includes a surprise guest for the Brit. The special follows Adele's announcement earlier this year that she was postponing her heavily anticipated Las Vegas residency, just days out, due to having "been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID." In November, she released her fourth studio album, "30," which included the singles "Easy on Me" and "Oh My God." The album has so far won British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards. It also ga