PEN Canada

PEN Canada’s 2025 Ken Filkow Prize has been awarded to the journalist and broadcaster Samira Mohyeddin. The prize recognizes an individual or group whose work has advanced freedom of expression in Canada.

The following letter (PDF version) sets out PEN Canada’s concerns with the charges brought against Yves Engler, a Canadian writer. Mr. Engler was detained in Montreal on Thursday February 20, 2025, and is currently out on bail. February 25, 2025 Mr. Fady Dagher, Montreal Police Chief Mme. Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal Sent via email Dear Police Chief Dagher and Mme. Mayor Plante — PEN Canada was founded in 1983. We are a nonpartisan organization of writers and readers.

Tala Motazedi, a queer screenwriter from Iran, has had a very busy year indeed as the PEN Writer-in-Residence at George Brown College. Her work at the College began in September. As part of her residency, Tala has been visiting classrooms across campus, acting as a guest speaker. She brings her life experience into each classroom, as well as her professional expertise – she is the first screenwriter and second playwright ever to hold the residency.

PEN would like to thank Patrick Crean for leading a writing workshop this past weekend with our Writers in Exile. Seventeen writers took part in the workshop, each an immigrant to Canada having fled persecution in their homeland. Together, they represent over 10 countries. Patrick is a renowned editor, and known for publishing original voices, fine writing, and uncommon ideas.

Thank you to all of our patrons, members, donors, supporters, volunteers, writers, readers, peers, and friends who have been a part of the PEN community in the past year. We are truly grateful for your time, effort, care, and imagination—you make a difference. In these last few days of 2024, let’s take a moment to reflect on five of the brightest moments of the past year at PEN: 1.

Every year in December, members of the PEN community come together to write messages of solidarity, support and hope to their fellow writers imprisoned or killed for practicing their right to free expression. From the longer PEN International list (available by request; email queries@pencanada.ca), this year’s writers come from Hong Kong, Egypt, Eritrea and Iran.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, has been a devastating and prolonged conflict between the Syrian government, led by Bashar al-Assad. The conflict has caused immense humanitarian suffering, with over 200,000 civilian casualties, including 25,000 children, and millions forced to flee their homes. On Sunday December 8, 2024, news broke that Assad had fled and the government had fallen, liberating the citizens it stifled for decades.

PEN Canada today commended the Government of Canada for removing more controversial parts of Bill C-63, particularly the heavy-handed hate speech penalties. The government heeded concerns expressed by a wide cross section of civil liberties groups, including PEN Canada. Its decision to limit the Bill to Part 1, the proposed Online Harms Act, and related amendments in Part 4, and set parts 2 and 3 on a separate track, will help ensure passage of this much-needed legislation.

This year for Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN is calling for urgent international action from November 15 – 29 to protect four writers targeted for their peaceful free expression work, including Jimmy Lai. To inspire your own solidarity letter writing, read on for Madeleine Thien’s letter to Jimmy Lai. November 12, 2024 dear Jimmy Lai, On February 28, 2020, you were arrested by Hong Kong police in your home above Mong Kok district. Fifteen officers took you away in a car.

As every year, on November 15, the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN calls for urgent international action to protect writers and journalists across the globe, who increasingly find themselves targeted for peaceful dissent. This year, from November 15 – 29 , 2024 , PEN is spotlighting four writers targeted for their peaceful free expression work: Kaciaryna Andrejeva (Belarus), Jimmy Lai (Hong Kong), Jose Rubén Zamora Marroquín (Guatemala), and Alaa Abd El-Fattah (Egypt).