The Graeme Gibson Talk returns this October! Occurring at the Toronto International Festival of Authors (Oct 27-Nov 1, 2026), this annual event features writers with expert knowledge on an emergent issue. Last year featured Rachel Maddow and Rebecca Solnit. Who will be on this year's line up? 👀

We're thrilled to announce Elamin Abdelmahmoud as the host of the October PEN Benefit. Elamin is the host of Commotion on CBC, a daily arts, pop culture and entertainment show. He is the author of Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces, a number one national bestseller.

In recent years, a growing number of journalists and media organizations in Alberta, as well as digital media creators, civil society groups, academics, activists and political actors, have been subjected to legal threats and lawsuits over their reporting and commentary on issues of public interest.

Mayyu fled Myanmar during the genocidal violence carried out by Myanmar military regime against the Rohingya in August 2017. In 2021 he was resettled in Canada, and is now based in Ottawa.

Mayyu Ali is the founder and director of Rasa Books, a multilingual Rohingya publishing house producing fiction, poetry, history, biography, cultural and children education books in Rohingya, Burmese, and English.

We are please to announce a new residency for writers living in exile 🌎 PEN Canada, Victoria University, and the Jackman Humanities Institute (JHI) invite applications for its Exiled Writer-in-Residence position for the 2026-2027 academic year. 🗓️ Deadline: Monday July 20, 2026 buff.ly/m8kOWVc

Save-the-date for an unforgettable evening of community and purpose. On Thursday Oct 1, together we will celebrate the life of beloved CBC reporter and humanitarian Joan Leishman while building a vital legacy of support for writers in exile living in Canada. This event is proudly supported by CBC.

12 writers. 25 years. Proof of life now. 📣 This summer, PEN International, together with PEN Eritrea in Exile and other PEN Centres, will launch a global campaign demanding urgent proof of life, accountability, and justice world's long-detained writers.

Twelve Eritrean writers and journalists have been disappeared for 25 years. One is Dawit Isaak. He is a journalist, writer and playwright. He is the co-ownder of Setit, Eritrea’s largest-circulation independent newspaper. He is a father to three.

Next week at our sold-out Summer Social, Kim Echlin will be interviewed by Ali Sobati. Sobati is an Iranian poet, translator, and literary activist based in Toronto. With over 20 years in Iran’s suppressed literary and academic circles, he has taught across underground and alternative institutions.

As we near the deadline for the 2026 New Voices Award submissions (Thursday May 7 at midnight), take a look back on the poetry and stories from last year's finalists: pencanada.ca/read-the-poe...

It documents 140 cases of persecution worldwide, including 32 imprisoned, 26 subjected to harassment, 23 facing judicial harassment, and 12 victims of enforced disappearance. Among them: #Indian journalist and author Rana Ayyub continues to face death threats and harassment for her reporting.

PEN International has published its Annual Case List, the world's longest-running record of attacks on writers 🌎 This year's report documents a troubling global pattern: spaces for expression, culture and dissent are shrinking as governments intensify efforts to silence critical expression.

Final week to submit for our RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award 📣 The award is open to any genre of writing, including creative nonfiction, journalism, novel and memoir excerpts, plays, short stories, and poetry collections. 📅 Deadline: Thursday May 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST. buff.ly/k8WAQzp

"I learned numbers before I learned the way home, or how to spell my own name. At seven, I counted images in newspapers of those executed in the weeks after Iran’s 1979 revolution. At ten, I heard the whispered statistics of more than 7,500 executed for opposing the regime in the 1980s; buried...

For more than twenty years, George Brown College has championed a PEN Writer-in-Residency, inviting an exiled writer to the College to discuss freedom of expression, human rights and the importance of democracy. Last fall, Onder Deligoz, a journalist from Turkey, was chosen as the 2025 resident.

In case you missed it, last year's winners of the RBC / PEN Canada New Voices Award stopped by CBC Radio to speak on the power of poetry, how they got into it and their hopes for freedom of expression in the future. Listen to their conversation: buff.ly/f90jwus

"Human rights and refugee support isn’t about charity—it’s about justice. This work is deeply personal and deeply important." Robina Aryubwal is a women’s rights activist, living in Toronto, building a career in policy and aid. She grew up in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, spending eight years...

Joshua Whitehead is a Two-Spirit, Oji-Cree member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of full-metal indigiqueer, Jonny Appleseed, Making Love with the Land, and Indigiqueerness: a Conversation About Storytelling. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary (Treaty 7).

francesca ekwuyasi is the author of Butter Honey Pig Bread and co-author of Curious Sounds: A Dialogue in Three Movements. She won the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Emerging LGBTQIA2S+ writers, and has been short and longlisted for the Governor General Award, Giller Prize, and the Dublin Literary Award.

Ann Y. K. Choi is a Toronto-based author and educator. She serves on the program advisory committee for gritLIT, mentors emerging writers in a group she founded called Writers in Trees; and teaches at the University of Toronto. Her new novel, All Things Under the Moon, was published in 2025.

Three weeks left to submit for our RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award. Unpublished writers are encouraged to submit any genre of writing, including creative nonfiction, journalism, plays, short stories, and poetry collections. Deadline: Thursday May 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

#Alberta: Legislation tabled last week could give the province more control over ideology and operations in schools. If passed, Bill 25 would mandate neutrality in classrooms and impose new restrictions on statements issued by school boards: medicinehatnews.com/news/local-n...

PEN Canada Writers in Exile — apply this week. 💌 This free workshop, led by educator and author Patricia Westerhof, covers what scams you should look out for, how to get published in literary magazines, and how to get an agent or editor interested in your manuscript. buff.ly/2RGJHKo

In an era of book bans, this organization is giving them away 📚 At a moment when many special interest groups and governments are devoted to keeping some books out of children’s hands, there is something almost radical about an organization devoted to getting books into the hands of children.

What is the future of publishing in Canada? English Canada once forged a confident literary culture. For decades, books shaped the national conversation and anchored a shared sense of who Canadians were. But now, publishing in Canada has collapsed.

Today, the Writers' Union of Canada announced Ira Wells as the recipient of the 2026 Freedom to Read Award. Wells is associate professor of literature and humanities at the University of Toronto and author of On Book Banning. He also serves as President of PEN Canada.

PEN Canada is seeking nominations for new members of its board of directors. Board members are expected to contribute to PEN’s activities, attend and participate in quarterly board meetings, and take part in committee work as needed. Learn more: buff.ly/iCsS5JS

Announcing the readers for our upcoming Voices of Freedom event. On March 18, you'll hear from Rukhshana Ahmadi (Hazara writer), Ali Sobati (Iranian poet, translator, and literary activist), and Hazrat Wahriz (leading a network of schools for girls in Afghanistan). 🎟️ Free tickets: buff.ly/n1sDYR9

Do you know a Canadian who helped a threatened foreign writer? Over the next few months, consider nominating them for the 2026 Marie-Ange Garrigue Prize. The winner will receive $3,000 CAD and be recognized at the PEN Canada awards ceremony later this year.