News
PEN Sydney brings you the latest news about freedom of expression, writers and their words.
News & Media
murray hunter cleared
Criminal defamation charges against Australian writer and journalist Murray Hunter have been settled without penalty or cost.On 17 November 2025,...
jimmy lai sentenced
On February 9, writer and publisher Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty under Hong Kong’s 2020 National Security...
Iranian poet arrested
PEN Sydney joins PEN America in condemning the detention of Iranian poet Ali Asadollahi. His arrest comes in the context of mass civil protests in...
Three Iranian Writers face imprisonment
This conversation was originally published in 2020. It was organised by PEN Sydney, on behalf of the Australian PEN Centres in Melbourne and Perth....
hate speech laws will do real harm
PEN Melbourne, PEN Sydney and PEN Perth express our deep concern regarding the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill that was passed by...
amanda echanis freed
On 14 January, Filipino poet, writer, and activist Amanda Echanis was acquitted of weapons and explosives charges after spending more than five...
adelaide writers’ week cancelled
The cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week after the removal of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah and the withdrawal of the majority of writers calls for a...
adelaide writers week
77 writers have withdrawn from the Adelaide Writers’ Week (AWW) after the Adelaide Festival Board decided to drop Australian-Palestinian author...
leila’s nightmare in iran
Leila Sadeghi had no idea of the danger that awaited her when she returned to Iran for her father’s funeral. As a translator of feminist articles...
senseless Death of an artist in iran
Artist and mother Mehrangiz Eminpour was killed in the Israeli attacks on Tehran on Monday June 2. PEN Sydney extends our condolences to her...
shielding citizens or silencing dissent in sri lanka
When Sri Lanka’s Parliament hurried the Online Safety Act (OSA) through committee and certified it on 1 February 2024, ministers hailed the statute...
Yang Hengjun’s letter from prison
A letter written in January this year by imprisoned Australian writer Yang Hengjun has been made public for the first time. Now in his sixth year of...