PEN News: April 8, 2011‏

PEN News: April 8, 2011‏

WHO WE ARE WHAT WE DO HOW TO HELP WORLD VOICES ADVOCACY PRESS OPPORTUNITIES Last Call for Festival Volunteers PEN is now accepting volunteers for the 2011 World Voices Festival. Help work front-of-house and back-of-house at events and other functions (hospitality suite, receptions, etc.). [E-mail us if interested] COMING UP April 13: Who Killed Natasha? Who Killed Natasha explores the murder of journalist and Memorial human rights defender Natalia Estemirova. The American movie premiere at the IFC Center will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker. [More details] May 24-26: BookExpo America BookExpo America is North America's biggest publishing event. It's the ideal place to connect with the hottest titles, newest authors, biggest ideas, and latest technology. It's where content creators, buyers, sellers, and influencers convene to gain perspectives, join the conversation on key topics, and network with old and new connections. [More details] FIND PEN ONLINE SEVENTH ANNUAL PEN WORLD VOICES FESTIVAL Full Festival Program Now Online The 2011 PEN World Voices Festival takes place from April 25 to May 1. Among the exciting additions to this year's program are a one-of-a-kind international documentary series and brand new Festival locations around New York. Follow the Festival online: at our new Festival Facebook page on Twitter with the #pwv11 hashtag with PEN's YouTube channel [Full Festival program] ADVOCACY NEWS Afghan Writer Malalai Joya Granted U.S. Visa Two days after PEN joined the ACLU and the American Association of University Professors to protest the denial of a visa to Malalai Joya, a renowned women's rights activist and former member of the Afghan Parliament, the U.S. State Department issued a visa that will allow Ms. Joya to tour the U.S. for her celebrated memoir A Woman Among Warlords. [More] Chinese Writer Liu Xianbin Sentenced to 10 Years Writer and PEN Member Liu Xianbin was given a 10-year prison sentence based on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" for writings which appeared on overseas online journals and news web sites. It is the longest sentence given on the charge after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo's 11-year term. [More] U.N. Accord Ends Push to Ban Blasphemy The U.N. Human Rights Council ended efforts to restrict speech considered offensive to religions with a unanimous vote on a religious tolerance resolution. PEN and a number of other human rights organizations have previously warned that such efforts would significantly erode crucial international and national protections for freedom of expression. [More] Suit Against NSA Surveillance Can Proceed An appeals court ruled that PEN and its co-plaintiffs have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the FISA Amendments Act, the 2008 legislation that granted the executive branch the power to carry out and expand the illegal eavesdropping activities it has engaged in secretly since 2001. [More] NEW AT PEN PEN in Translation The 2011 PEN Translation Feature highlights PEN's continuing mission to foster international fellowship through literature, showcasing work from PEN Translation Fund recipients and Literary Awards winners, as well as PEN Translation Committee members and World Voices Festival participants. [More] PEN Reads: James M. Cain's Mildred Pierce Join the discussion of James M. Cain's modern masterpiece Mildred Pierce. Screenwriter Jon Raymond takes us behind the scenes of the adapted HBO mini-series, while crime writer Laura Lippman examines Cain's characterization of women in the novel. Tin House Editor and PEN Reads Chair Rob Spillman chimes in next. [More] PEN Talks: A Reading & Conversation Series PEN Talks, a new weekly reading and conversation series, kicks off with Lisa Dierbeck, a 2011 PEN World Voices Festival participant and author of The Autobiography of Jenny X. Coming up are two other Festival authors: Susan Rosenberg (An American Radical) and Roxana Robinson (Cost). [More]