PEN America launches a US safety program for authors facing harassment

NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of publishers and literary agencies are teaming with PEN America on an initiative meant to counter a growing trend of harassment against members of the literary community.

PEN America, the century-old free expression organization, announced Friday that it was launching the U.S. Safety Program, which would provide safety training and other resources for authors amid a wave of censorship efforts around the country.

“We have heard from countless authors, illustrators, and translators who are under siege, fending off a steady stream of abuse and threats, online and at book events,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, co-chief executive officer of PEN America. “Through this new program, the literary and publishing community is stepping up together because writers should not be forced to choose between their safety and their voice.”

Viktorya Vilk, who directs PEN’s digital safety efforts, told The Associated Press that she first noticed a rise in harassment against journalists a decade ago, around the time Donald Trump was first elected president, and has seen it spread to writers and educators over the past couple of years. Maia Kababe, Jon Evison and George Johnson are among the authors of censored works who have spoken out about being harassed and threatened and even physically assaulted.

Ashley Hope Pérez, whose young adult novel “Out of Darkness” became a target for censors over its depictions of sex and sexual abuse, says she had to take down her office email and telephone. “I got hate mail and all kinds of ugly phone calls,” says Pérez, who teaches at Ohio State University.

According to PEN, it has raised nearly $1 million through contributions from Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers and Penguin Random House among others. This spring, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Egan and Lee Child will be among the writers auctioning off character names for future novels, with the proceeds benefiting the safety program. PEN will be building on other programs from recent years, including digital safety workshops held for Hachette authors in 2023.

“There have probably never been as many threats to authors’ safety as there are currently in the U.S,” Hachette CEO David Shelley said in a statement. “We’re proud to support this much-needed program from PEN America that will give writers a wide range of professional resources to help them deal with threats to their safety, online and offline.”