PEN America in Damage-Control Mode Amid Revolt From Staff and Palestinian Writers

In a letter to the board of PEN America, a group of current and former employees this week threw their support behind a recent, high-profile protest against the literary free speech organization’s refusal to align with its parent organization PEN International and call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The staffers, who sent the letter anonymously out of fear of professional retaliation, shared with the board two letters employees sent to the organization’s top brass last year “expressing concerns from a large number of staff that PEN America is failing to comply with its mission and values with regard to its work on Palestinian free expression.”

In December, 41 PEN America staffers sent a letter to leadership raising “continued concerns about the organization’s shortcomings in mounting a principled defense of free expression,” and warning that CEO Suzanne Nossel’s decision to take an “ill-conceived” trip to Israel would undermine PEN America’s credibility on issues it purports to care about. Another October letter scrutinized the organization’s initial response after Hamas’s attack, accusing PEN America of not also addressing the ongoing and ensuing suffering inflicted upon Palestinians.