News Archive

Chip Rolley wins 2008 Sydney PEN Award

Tom Keneally presented the 2008 Sydney PEN Award to writer Chip Rolley on 12 November at our final Sydney 3 Writers lecture event for the year. The Award was instituted in 2006 to acknowledge outstanding work by a Sydney PEN member in support of PEN’s aims.
   The inaugural Sydney PEN Award was made to writer Dr Rosie Scott in 2006 and to writer and former Sydney PEN President Nicholas Jose in 2007. The Award has been made possible by the generosity of Sydney PEN member Jane Morgan and the support of Mr Charles Wolf of The Pen Shop, Sydney.
   Click here to read the text of the award speech delivered by Sydney PEN President Virginia Lloyd.

Stella Wilkes, 1914-2008

By Deirdre Hill, Life Member of Sydney PEN
Stella Wilkes MBE, Life Member of Sydney PEN, died on 10th November 2008, three days before her 94th birthday. Stella was born in England and during the war years worked as a journalist for the BBC as Organiser of the Features Department. She was awarded the MBE for Services to Journalism and came to Australia in 1968 when she married journalist Jerry Wilkes.
   In the early 1980's Stella was co-opted by PEN  and elected PEN representative on the Copyright Council and later became involved in the formation of the Copyright Agency Ltd, which was established to collect fees for copying in schools and universities on behalf of copyright owners.
   Her close ties with England were invaluable in strengthening Australian PEN's connection with the rest of the world. She represented Australian writers at PEN World conferences in London, Hamburg and other European centres, travelling at her own expense. Stella headed the Writers in Prison Committee at Sydney PEN and was constantly involved in lobbying governments throughout the world by writing letters herself and overseeing others in PEN's endeavours to have writers released from prison. Her concern for writers everywhere is most simply expressed by the many greeting cards she sent to writers in China, Vietnam and Tibet to show that PEN knew they were there and needed help. The purpose was to tell governments that someone knew what was happening and the cards were to show the writers that we cared.
   Stella's was a life of caring and concern. It was her request that instead of flowers donations should be made to International PEN Sydney Centre.  Click here to view the SMH article and photo Broadcaster's work spanned two hemispheres

COURAGE Lecture

Courtesy of SlowTV
Following an introduction by Tom Keneally, Anna Funder delivers the third public lecture in the 2008 series of Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project. Speaking on the subject of courage - in particular its relationship with political power - she begins with an account of the final actions of Russian journalist  Anna Politkovskaya (with whom she shared a newspaper column). Click here to view and listen. Anna Funder is the author of Stasiland, stories of people who heroically resisted the communist dictatorship of East Germany and of people who worked for its secret police, the Stasi.
   The essays will be published as a collection by Allen & Unwin in 2009. The 3 Writers Project is presented with the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and we look forward to bringing you details of the 2009 series.

Help PEN protest 45-year sentence for Burmese writer

PEN is stunned by the forty-five year prison sentence handed down on 21 November 2008 to poet and comedian Zargana in Burma. One of Burma’s most courageous defenders of the right to speak out against tyranny, Zargana is among a number of leading dissidents to have been sentenced in recent days in special courts held inside the notorious Insein prison for their peaceful opposition activities, many to staggeringly harsh sentences.

A major crackdown in Burma has been underway since early September 2007, following demonstrations led by monks and pro-democracy activists which began on 19 August 2007. Many of those who took part in these protests, including Zargana, poet Saw Wei and musician Win Maw  have been sentenced in the past two weeks in what the BBC describes as ‘a judicial crackdown across the spectrum of Burma's pro-democracy movement’.
(See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7741653.stm)

The current situation has escalated to crisis point and we ask that you join our writers and supporters around the world in raising awareness. You can help by writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper expressing alarm at events in Burma and highlighting Zargana’s case. You can help by sending letters of appeal to the rulers of  Myanmar and the Burmese embassy protesting the harsh sentences and demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in Myanmar in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To help you, our Writers in Prison Committee has drafted this letter that you can copy and paste to add your signature and send to the Myanmar Ambassador in Australia and also send to Senior General Than Shwe as detailed below.

Complete PEN statement: World Writers‘ Association ‘stunned’ by the sentencing of Burmese Poet and Comedian Zargana

Complete update on Zargana’s case: Myanmar – Zargana Update

Send your letters to:

Senior General Than Shwe
Chairman, State Peace and Development Council
c/o Ministry of Defence, Naypyitaw, Union of Myanmar
Salutation: Dear General

His Excellency Hla Myint,
Myanmar Ambassador to Australia,
Embassy of the Union of Myanmar,
22 Arkana Street,
Yarralumla, ACT 2600

Your actions do make a difference. In the first six months of this year 35 writers have been released from prison around the world as a result of PEN’s advocacy efforts. Please help us to help Zargana and other Burmese writers in detention.

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Helen Garner

Tuesday  2 December, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential: Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Helen will read from her latest book, The Spare Room.

Helen Garner, born in Geelong in 1942, is one of Australia’s most respected writers. She has been publishing novels, short stories, non-fiction and journalism since 1977 when her first novel, Monkey Grip, became a bestseller. Subsequent works include the short stories Postcards from Surfers and the novel The Children’s Bach. Garner’s non-fiction books include the widely-debated and controversial The First Stone; True Stories and The Feel of Steel, collections of her journalism and essays; and Joe Cinque’s Consolation, an account of two Canberra murder trials. The Spare Room, a novel, appeared in 2008. She lives in Melbourne.

Anna Funder on COURAGE

Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project
Anna Funder (Photo by Martine Archambault) will deliver the third public lecture in the 2008 series of Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project. She will speak on the subject of COURAGE on Wednesday 12 November 2008 in Sydney (followed by a conversation with  noted Australian writer Tom Keneally), and Thursday 13 November 2008 in Canberra (followed by a conversation with Professor Hilary Charlesworth, ANU).

Anna Funder is the author of Stasiland, stories of people who heroically resisted the communist dictatorship of East Germany, and of people who worked for its secret police, the Stasi. Stasiland was shortlisted for many prizes in Australia and Britain and in 2004 received the world’s largest non-fiction award, the BBC 4 Samuel Johnson Prize.

These final events in our series will include the annual presentation of The Sydney PEN Award in recognising the outstanding support of a PEN member at our Sydney event and our International Day of the Imprisoned Writer dedication. Book now to ensure your place at these major events:

SYDNEY: 6.00 for 6.30pm, Wednesday 12 November 2008
Venue: The Alistair Mackerras Theatre, Sydney Grammar School, College Street, Darlinghurst
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession plus booking fee (includes light refreshments 6.00-6.30pm)
Bookings: MCA Ticketing on 1300 306 776 or http://www.mca-tix.com

CANBERRA: 5.30 for 6.00pm, Thursday 13 November 2008
Venue: The National Library of Australia, Canberra- followed by a conversation with Professor Hillary Charlesworth, ANU
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession (includes light refreshments 5.30-6.00pm)
Bookings: Clare Hoey, Director, Manning Clark House on 6295 9433 or director@manningclark.org.au

The 3 Writers Project is presented with the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL).

GREED and SURVIVAL lectures

Courtesy of ABC Fora:
Christopher Kremmer On Greed 
Did the notion that "Greed is Good" die out with the 1980s? In this thoughtful meditation, the first in the PEN Voices Lecture Series, writer Christopher Kremmer considers greed from all angles: social, historical, economic and cultural.
Melissa Lucashenko On Survival 
Australian history is full of images of ingenious settlers battling against the harsh, unforgiving land in order to survive. But is the European notion of 'survival' different from the indigenous one? In this brilliant address, the second of the PEN Voices lecture series, Aboriginal writer Melissa Lucashenko argues that it is.

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Garth Nix

Tuesday 5 August, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Photo by Robert McFarlane

Hear bestselling author Garth Nix, who is also a former literary agent, editor and bookseller, talk about the art and the business of writing and publishing. He will also read briefly from his latest novel for children, Superior Saturday,  the sixth book in The Keys to the Kingdom series. 
> More

Sydney PEN Voices: 3 Writers Project 2008

Sydney PEN commissions three talented writers to write an essay and deliver a lecture on a big issue facing contemporary Australia. In 2008 These writers are Christopher Kremmer, Melissa Lucashenko, and Anna Funder. We are pleased to announce that this year’s lecture series, will be extended to include Canberra, thanks to the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), in association with Manning Clark House and The National Library of Australia. The essays will be published as a collection by Allen & Unwin in 2009.

Christopher Kremmer on GREED followed by a conversation with author, journalist and commentator Anne Summers
Photo by Lucy Cavender
Christopher Kremmer is the best-selling author of four non-fiction books set in Asia, including The Carpet Wars, Bamboo Palace and Inhaling the Mahatma. His books have been published in nine countries, including in Japanese and Spanish translations, and have been shortlisted for The Age and Courier Mail Book of the Year awards, the New South Wales and Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, and the Australian Book Industry Awards. Christopher has also penned prize-winning short-fiction and a substantial body of journalism for the ABC and Fairfax Media. He is currently a research scholar with the Writing and Society Group at the University of Western Sydney.
SYDNEY: 6.00 for 6.30pm, Wednesday 30 July 2008
Venue: Alistair Mackerras Theatre, Sydney Grammar School, College Street, Darlinghurst
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession plus booking fee (includes light refreshments 6.00-6.30pm)
Bookings: MCA Ticketing on 1300 306 776 or http://www.mca-tix.com

Christopher Kremmer on GREED followed by a conversation with  Alex Sloan
CANBERRA: 5.30 for 6.00pm, Thursday 31 July 2008
Venue:The National Library of Australia, Canberra
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession (includes light refreshments 5.30-6.00pm)
Bookings: Clare Hoey, Director, Manning Clark House on 6295 9433 or director@manningclark.org.au

Melissa Lucashenko on SURVIVAL
Sydney: September 24 at Sydney Grammar School - followed by a conversation with ABC presenter Fran Kelly
Canberra: September 25 at the Australian National Library - followed by a conversation with Canberra Times editor Jack Waterford.

Anna Funder on COURAGE
Sydney: November 12 at Sydney Grammar School - followed by a conversation with world-renowned author, Thomas Keneally
Canberra: November 13 at the Australian National Library - followed by a conversation with ANU Professor Hillary Charlesworth.

Congratulations to 2008 AWGIE Award Nominees

Sydney PEN Life Member Katherine Thomson was among the multiple AWGIE winners who have again received nominations for this year for their writing excellence in the Radio Adaption category for Fragments of Hong Kong, and Sydney PEN Member Debra Oswald for Stories in the Dark in the Theatre for Young Audiences category. The 41st annual AWGIE Awards will be presented in Melbourne on August 15.

NEW Sydney PEN Magazine - first edition!

Please click here for the first edition of our exciting new Sydney PEN Magazine. Thanks to the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL), this online magazine has a dedicated editor, Gail MacCallum, and will be published twice yearly. We hope you enjoy it.

The right sort of proliferation of empty chairs

Sydney PEN's commitment to getting as many empty chairs into as many literary festivals and events continues to grow. Sandra Thibodeaux, director of Darwin's Wordstorm Festival, came on-board in mid-May, inviting six writers to read statements at their sessions (Sydney PEN advisory panel member Helen Garner, along with Sydney PEN Three Writers contributor Gideon Haigh, and Alice Garner, Gail Jones, Ursula Dubosarsky, and Dorothy Porter), and also, according to
reports, reading a statement about PEN and the empty chair project at several other sessions.

The Sydney Writers' Festival continued their commitment to the project, ..> More

PEN lunchtime reading with Arnold Zable

Tuesday 1 July, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

The island of Homer's Odyssey has beguiled readers for millennia. Master story-teller Arnold Zable takes us to modern-day Ithaca, to its mountains, its villages and harbours, and into the homes of its people. His new novel is a profound meditation on displacement, nostalgia and exile - a story that affirms the enduring resonance of the Odyssey for voyagers of all times. Arnold will discuss and read from Sea of Many Returns.  His books include the award winning Jewels and Ashes (1992), The Fig Tree (2002) and the novels Cafe Scheherazade (2001) and Scraps of Heaven (2004). He is President of the International PEN Melbourne Centre.

Congratulations to 2008 NSW Premier's Literary Awards Winners

Sydney PEN warmly congratulates winners of the 2008 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, including Sydney PEN Writers Advisory Panel member, Tom Keneally, winner of the Special Award in recognition of his contribution to Australian literature and PEN members Rhyll McMaster, winner of the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing for her book, Feather Man, and Debra Oswald, winner of the Play Award for Stories in the Dark.

Sydney PEN welcomes the significant increase in the prize money announced by Arts Minister Frank Sartor at the award ceremony as a strong signal of the NSW Government’s commitment to Australian writers and writing. More...

TOLERANCE, PREJUDICE AND FEAR launched

Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project
In 2007, Sydney PEN with the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) commissioned The 3 Writers Project, a series of essays and public lectures in which three of our leading and acclaimed writers Christos Tsiolkas, Gideon Haigh and Alexis Wright tackled topics of vital importance to contemporary Australia: tolerance, prejudice and fear.

The essays have now been published by Allen & Unwin as a collection - TOLERANCE, PREJUDICE AND FEAR - with an introduction by Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee.  More....

Gideon Haigh, Christos Tsiolkas and Mara Moustafine discussed the 3 Writers Project with Ashley Hay at a well attended session at the Sydney Writers Festival on 24 May 2008

Sydney PEN Voices: 3 Writers Project 2008 announced!
During the session, Mara Moustafine announced the three writers and themes for the 2008 series of the Sydney PEN Voices: 3 Writers Project. They are: Christopher Kremmer on GREED, Melissa Lucsashenko on SURVIVAL and Anna Funder on COURAGE. With CAL's support, the lecture series is being extended to Canberra in collaboration with Manning Clark House.
The schedule for the 2008 lecture series is:
Christopher Kremmer on GREED
Sydney - July 30 at Sydney Grammar School - followed by a conversation with ABC presenter Monica Attard.
Canberra - July 31 at the Australian National Library - followed by a conversation with Alex Sloan.
Melissa Lucashenko on SURVIVAL
Sydney - September 24 at Sydney Grammar School - followed by a conversation with ABC presenter Fran Kelly
Canberra - September 25 at the Australian National Library - followed by a conversation with Canberra Times editor Jack Waterford. 
Anna Funder on COURAGE
Sydney - November 12 at Sydney Grammar School - followed by a conversation with author, Thomas Keneally
Canberra - November 13 at the Australian National Library - followed by a conversation with ANU Professor Hillary Charlesworth.

PEN lunchtime reading with Debra Adelaide

Tuesday 3 June, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au 
Photo by Philip Klaunzer

Hear Sydney PEN member Debra Adelaide read from her latest novel The Household Guide to Dying. Debra  is the author of three novels, The Hotel Albatross and Serpent Dust, and the new release, The Household Guide to Dying. She is the editor of four themed collections of fiction and memoirs, including Acts of Dog. She has worked as a researcher, editor and book reviewer, and is now a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Open letter of support for Bill Henson

As members of Sydney PEN may be aware, on May 28 participants in the Creative Stream of the Australia 2020 Summit wrote an Open Letter in support of Bill Henson, whose Sydney exhibition was raided by the police on May 22, shut down, and remains the subject of investigation. Since the Open Letter was widely reported in the media, many people have expressed interest in voicing their protest by adding their name to the Open Letter. A blog was established on Monday 2 June to enable this, at http://billhensonletterofsupport.blogspot.com/.

Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature

A groundbreaking collection of work from some of the great Australian Aboriginal writers, the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature offers a rich panorama of over 200 years of Aboriginal culture, history and life. From Bennelong's 1796 letter to contemporary creative writers, Anita Heiss and Peter Minter have selected work that represents the range and depth of Aboriginal writing in English. The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature is published as part of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature project. Published by Allen & Unwin, the Anthology will be available from 7 May following the launch by Hetti Perkins.

Sydney PEN 2020 Summit Submission

Towards a creative Australia: the future of the arts, film and design
Please click here for Sydney PEN's submission to the Summit to provide ideas for how Australia can promote the freedom of expression of writers in Australia and overseas. Thank you to the many members that provided input.

The Australian Press Freedom Dinner – 2 May

The Australian Press Freedom Dinner on 2 May unites journalists, entertainers and thinkers ahead of World Press Freedom Day. It is a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to hold those in power to account. Guest speaker will be International Editor of Time Magazine, Michael Elliott
Tickets are $130. For further information visit http://www.alliance.org.au/pressfreedom/

Changing the World with Words

Saturday 3rd May 2008, 2pm to 4pm
SMSA (Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts)
280 Pitt St, Sydney
FREE event

Each May Sydney becomes a city transformed by words with the annual Sydney Writers Festival. Join us at the SMSA for an afternoon exploring the transformative power of words. Through the varied lenses of history, poetry and fiction we’ll delve into how books and writing create meaning in our lives. Sydney PEN Committee Member and Chair of Young Writers Group, poet Bonny Cassidy will be joined by Brook Emery, convenor Australian Poetry Festival and Shirley Fitzgerald, City Of Sydney Council Historian.

PEN lunchtime reading with Virginia Lloyd

Tuesday 6 May, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Sydney PEN member Virginia Lloyd will read from her memoir The Young Widow’s Book of Home Improvement.  Virginia worked as a book editor for many years, then moved from publishing into corporate communications and marketing. She now works with grant-makers and grant-seekers in the philanthropic sector. She spent eighteen months in New York while writing The Young Widow’s Book of Home Improvement (UQP 2008), her first book.

PEN lunchtime reading with Susan Wyndham

Tuesday 1 April, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential: Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Photo by Steve Baccon

Hear Sydney Morning Herald journalist turned author, Susan Wyndham, read from her new book, Life In His Hands (Picador), and discuss the remarkable true story of “maverick” neurosurgeon, Charlie Teo and concert pianist Aaron McMillan.

TAKE ACTION ! International Women's Day

PEN is marking International Women’s Day (8 March) by highlighting the plight of three women writers under threat in China – Zeng Jinyan, Tsering Woeser and Li Jianhong. Each of these women is continuing to write in the face of great personal risk.  Send an appeal: click here for details.

Zeng Jinyan. Activist and internet writer under house arrest and constant surveillance since husband, Hu Jia, was arrested in December 2007. 

Tsering Woeser: Award-winning Tibetan writer and poet; works banned in China, employment and movement restricted.


Li Jianhong: Freelance internet writer subjected to intense police harassment, detentions, and interrogations, periods of house arrest, and several dismissals from posts of employment.

Ian McEwan and PEN's 'Empty Chair'

On 9th March the Booker Prize winning author, and PEN member, Ian McEwan is in conversation at the Opera House with Ramona Koval. The PEN 'empty chair' on this occasion is on behalf of a twenty-three year old Afghani writer sentenced to death for blasphemy. See Action Alert box opposite for how you can help.> More

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Geraldine Brooks

1.30-2.15pm,Thursday March 13
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Sydney PEN Writers Advisory Panel member, Geraldine Brooks will talk about her new book, People of the Book (Harper Collins), a gripping novel about war, art, love and survival.  She is the author of the Pulitzer prize-winning March, Year of Wonders, her new novel, People of the Book, and the non-fiction works Nine Parts of Desire and Foreign Correspondence. Previously, Brooks was a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal in Bosnia, Somalia, and the Middle East. Born and raised in Australia, she divides her time between Sydney and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. She lives with her husband, the author Tony Horwitz, and their son.

Take action! Writers in Prison

CHINA: Writer and human rights activist Lu Gengsong sentenced to four years in prison for subversion. PEN protests the four-year prison sentence handed down to writer and human rights activist Lu Gengsong on 5 February 2008 for ‘inciting subversion of state power’ for his critical writings published online. Lu has been detained since 24 August 2007.  Write a letter...
VIETNAM: Award-winning writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy released.
PEN welcomes the release of writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, who was freed on 31 January 2008 following her trial and sentencing before the Hanoi People's Court. She was sentenced to nine months and 10 days, or time served, plus three years’ probationary detention on charges of "causing public disorder". PEN remains concerned that she still faces charges, and continues to call for her unconditional release. Write a letter... 
MYANMAR: Leading poet Saw Wei arrested for a poem critical of the authorities.
PEN is gravely concerned for the well-being of leading Burmese poet Saw Wei, who was arrested on 22 January 2008 for a poem critical of the authorities. International PEN seeks immediate assurances of Saw Wei’s well being, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release, as well as of all those currently detained in Myanmar in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Write a letter...

Please click here for further information from our Writers in Prison Committee.

IPWWC Network - January 2008

Read the latest newsletter of the International PEN Women Writers' Committee. Click here.

PEN 'Empty Chairs' at Perth Writers Festival

The PEN tradition of an 'empty chair', symbolising a writer who cannot be present because they have been imprisoned, detained, disappeared, threatened or killed, will feature at the Perth Writers Festival, February 8 to March 2 http://www.perthfestival.com.au/

The 'empty chair', which features at all PEN literary events and at major literary festivals is a key focus of PEN's campaigning work to draw attention to the plight of writers in prison.

PEN 'Empty Chairs' at Adelaide Writers Festival

The PEN tradition of an 'empty chair', symbolising a writer who cannot be present because they have been imprisoned, detained, disappeared, threatened or killed, will feature at the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts, 29 February-16 March, Writers Week 2-7 March 2008 www.adelaidefestival.com.au

Chinese Writer Disappears

UPDATE (10 March): PEN HAS RECEIVED WORD THAT DR TENG BIAO HAS BEEN RELEASED. 8 March: Sydney PEN is alarmed at the disappearance of our colleague, Dr Teng Biao, a writer, lawyer and member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre. According to his wife, Dr Teng (pictured left) was last seen in front of his residence building in Beijing at 8.40 pm on 6 March 2008. Reports indicate that he was forced from his car into another and driven to an unknown location. Except for one short message to his wife around midnight, he has been incommunicado since then. Dr Teng co-signed an open letter entitled, The Real China and the Olympics with fellow writer Hu Jia, the well known activist who has campaigned in China across a number of issues, including AIDS, the environment and human rights.

Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Tom Keneally's address on refugees

Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Tom Keneally's address at  Refugee Advice & Casework Service (RACS) 21st Birthday Dinner
7pm Friday 7 March
Royal Marigold Restaurant, L5, 683-689 George St, Sydney
Cost: $45/$25 student/unwaged

Hear from guest speaker, Tom Keneally, a member of Sydney PEN's Writers Advisory Panel and co-editor of Sydney PEN's anthology of refugee writing Another Country: Writers in Detention (2007).
Click here for details and bookings.

Gleebooks presents a Sydney PEN Fundraiser

Maureen Freely Enlightenment
In conversation with Sally Blakeney
Wednesday, February 27, 6.30 for 7pm
49 Glebe Pt. Rd, Glebe
Cost: $10/$7 conc. gleeclub and Sydney PEN members
Ticket proceeds to Sydney PEN
book: ph. 9660 2333, www.gleebooks.com.au/events

Maureen Freely is a controversial writer who is not afraid to criticize the Turkey she loves. She defended Nobel Prize winner, Orhan Pamuk, two of whose novels she has translated, when he was prosecuted under Article 301 for un-Turkish behaviour, and has also assisted Turkish authors Perihan Magden and Elif Shafak who were prosecuted under similar articles. In her new, gripping novel, Enlightenment, Maureen Freely paints a picture of Turkey from the 1970s to the present, a country in which ‘free speech’ is a fluid term at best and where nobody is who they say they are, and everyone is a suspect.

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Emily Maguire

12.15-12.45pm,Tuesday March 4
Customs House Library
Meeting Room, Level 2
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Emily Maguire will read from her latest book, Princesses and Pornstars (Text) published March 3, 2008. A mix of personal story, reportage, analysis and polemic, written in a bold, intimate style, containing interviews with porn aficionados, young brides and 'homemakers' Princesses and Pornstars is a gripping and essential snapshot of where female sexuality is today. Emily is also the author of the novels The Gospel According to Luke and Taming the Beast. Her articles and essays on sex, religion, culture and literature have been widely publishing, including in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Griffith Review, the Observer and the Age. She lives in Sydney.

Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Tom Keneally receives Helmerich Distinguished Author award

Thomas Keneally, a world-renowned writer best known for his novel “Schindler’s List,”  accepted the Tulsa Library Trust’s 2007 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award on December 7 in Tulsa. The Tulsa Library Trust gives the Helmerich award annually to an internationally acclaimed author who has written a distinguished body of work and made a major contribution to the field of literature and letters.
The award consists of a $40,000 cash prize and an engraved crystal book. For more information visit the library’s Web site at www.tulsaworld. com/tulsalibrary.

Gleebooks presents a Sydney PEN fundraiser

How We Met - A Valentine’s Day Conversation at Gleebooks with Sydney PEN
Thursday, February 14, 6.30 for 7pm
Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Pt. Rd, Glebe
Tickets: $10 - free for  gleeclub and Sydney PEN members
Bookings: ph. 9660 2333, www.gleebooks.com.au/events
It’s one of the life’s classic storylines - how you met the person you fell in love with; how you met the person you should have fallen in love with; how you lost the person you thought you had fallen in love with. Join contributors to the Penguin anthology How We Met: True Confessions of Love, Lust and that Fateful First Meeting - including producer Margaret Fink (My Brilliant Career, Candy) and novelists Elizabeth Stead  (The Fishcastle, The Gospel of Gods, Crocodiles) and Jessica Adams (Single White Email, The Summer Psychic) 

Frank Moorhouse wins Walkley Awards

Congratulations to Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Frank Moorhouse on being among the winners for the 52nd Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Frank was presented the Social Equity Journalism award for his essay The writer in a time of terror (Griffith REVIEW Ed 14: The Trouble with Paradise).

The Book Show - Christos Tsiolkas on tolerance

Today (30 November) we bring you the third and final instalment from the Sydney PEN Voices series:  Christos Tsiolkas on tolerance

West Papuan Book Banning

Sydney PEN is greatly concerned about the banning and confiscation of a book by West Papuan author and academic, Sendius Wonda by Indonesian authorities on the grounds that that the book could divide Papua politically.
It is believed by Sydney PEN that the banning of the book contravenes Indonesia's democratic principles and the commitment under President Yudhoyono to the protection of the freedom of expression within the Republic. See Sydney PEN's letter to Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. 

PEN Petition sent to Chinese Embassy

Sixty-nine writers, editors, translators and readers attending the final lecture in our 3 Writers series signed a petition to the Chinese Embassy calling for the release of Zhang Jianhong (pictured). Mr Zhang, also known as Li Hong, was sentenced earlier this year by the Ningbo City Intermediate People's Court to six year's imprisonment and one year's deprivation of political rights on charges of "inciting subversion of state authority" and "defaming the Chinese government". PEN understands that this sentence is based on articles Mr Zhang posted online between May and September 2006. Zhang Jianhong was also honoured at the event by the Empty Chair, PEN's way of drawing attention to the writers who cannot be present due to being imprisoned for their writing. The petition was sent to the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, HE Zhang Junsai, with copies sent to Australia's Ambassador to China, Dr Geoff Raby. The final 3 Writers lecture for 2007 was delivered by Chistos Tsiolkas and was also our commemoration of PEN's Day of the Imprisoned Writer.

More about Zhang Jianhong aka Li Hong

Pressing Concerns About the Beijing Olympics

The Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders Robert Ménard has written to Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, with a number of concerns about the treatment of the press in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics in August 2008. The letter echoes a number of concerns Sydney PEN has, including:

• The compiling of files on foreign journalists and a vetting process that threatens to ban journalists from entering China under the vague rationale of "security concerns".
• Reported instructions to security apparatus to identify domestic and foreign groups that may want to demonstrate during the games.
• More than 50 cases documented by RWF demonstrating authorities are not following the relatively progressive rules adopted for foreign journalists 11 months ago.
• The detention and abuse of foreign and domestic writers alike, including the recent detention of blogger He Weihua to a psychiatric hospital in August and the sentencing of Yang Maodong (aka Guo Feixiong) to five years in prison for publishing a book without permission.
• Continuing orders to domestic media to not publish stories critical of China or the Olympics.
  
  Read the letter in full.

Vale Andrea Stretton

Sydney PEN members were deeply saddened to hear of the sudden and tragic death of arts journalist, TV presenter, Sydney PEN member and friend, Andrea Stretton who died at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital, aged 55 on 16 November, 2007. Andrea was an active supporter and champion of PEN from the early '90s. 

We have opened the site for friends and colleagues to record their memories of Andrea for, as Jack Durack has written, many of us 'thought there would be time to get to know her better.'  We are all sorry we left it too late. Andrea's death is a great loss to the Australian community and she will be missed terribly by all of us.
If you would like your memories of Andrea added please see the link. 

Report Cites Secrecy and Legislation Hamper Journalists' Work in Australia

The 'Report of the Independent Audit into the State of Free Speech in Australia', an initiative of the Right to Know Coalition, an alliance of journalists and the country's biggest media organisations, including MEAA, chronicles an increasing culture of secrecy and legislation limiting freedom of expression in Australia.

Women Writers: more than token honour

Sydney PEN and the UTS Centre for New Writing
present Dr Judith Buckrich - Women Writers: more than token honour
Tuesday 27th November, 5.30 for 6pm
Room 2.7065A, Building 2, Level 7, UTS Centre for New Writing, Broadway
FREE Admission
The most invisible yet insidious problems for women writers are censorship and self-censorship. In regions where women's rights are constantly challenged, the situation of women writers is especially difficult.> More

2007 Sydney PEN Award

Former president of Sydney PEN (2002-2005), Nicholas Jose, has been awarded the 2007 Sydney PEN Award. Instituted in 2006, the award acknowledges outstanding work by a Sydney PEN member in support of International PEN's aims. The award was intiated in 2006 with the generous support of long time PEN member, Jane Morgan and Mr Charles Wolf of the Sydney Pen Shop. Sydney PEN President, Mara Moustafine, presented the Award and speech. Read the Sydney PEN Young Writers' Chair, Bonny Cassidy's profile of Nick. 

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Di Morrissey

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 4 December 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Australia’s most popular female novelist and Sydney PEN member, Di Morrissey, will read from her most recent novel Monsoon. Di is the author of 16 bestsellers, which have all been written from her home in Byron Bay. > More

Beth Yahp Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Read Australian prize-winning author, Beth Yahp's open letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, calling on him to "unmuzzle" his nation's journalists, editors and broadcasters. In Kuala Lumpur on November 10 Ms Yahp watched as a peaceful protest by 40,000 calling for electoral reform turned violent when police attacked demonstrators and journalists with tear gas, batons and chemical-laced water canon. In her letter she describes what she saw and the news blackout and government misinformation about the event.> More

SEASON'S GREETINGS !

Thank you for your support for Sydney PEN throughout the year and best wishes to you and yours for a happy and safe festive season.

We look forward to your ongoing support in 2008. 

PEN calls for support for displaced Iraqi writers, journalist and translators

PEN is deeply distressed by the deepening humanitarian and security crisis unfolding in Iraq, in which an estimated four million Iraqis are now displaced both inside the country and in the region. The most vulnerable of these displaced Iraqis include writers, translators and interpreters under threat from insurgents and religious extremists for their writings and alleged collaboration with the coalition forces.

Support PEN with 'How We Met'

Support Sydney PEN and read the sometimes romantic, sometimes bittersweet stories of finding the love of a lifetime. How We Met was launched 29 October by Penguin and celebrates the surprising, sweet, funny and downright weird ways in which people have found love - either the one they are with, or the one that got away. Sydney PEN would like to offer our thanks and deep appreciation to Penguin and the contributing writers who have donated all royalties from sales of the book to the Sydney PEN Centre. 

PEN Special Offer

Tom Stoppard in conversation with Andrew Upton
In a rare event one of the great masters of international theatre, Tom Stoppard talks about his life, passions and critically-acclaimed career. One afternoon only! 16 December, 2pm at Sydney Opera House - Limited Tickets. Call 02 9250 7777 and quote ‘Rosencrantz’ to secure your seats. Conditions: Available on phone bookings only; Strictly limited allocation; Booking fees may apply * Tickets normally $39 full price / $29 concession. Visit www.sydneyoperahouse.com and search for ‘Stoppard’ for more details about this talk.

> More

Moorhouse short-listed for Walkley Awards

Congratulations to Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Frank Moorhouse on being among the finalists for the 52nd Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Frank was nominated in the social equity journalism category for his essay The writer in a time of terror (Griffith REVIEW Ed 14: The Trouble with Paradise). Winners will be announced 29 November.

Writer, Lawyer Arrested

Sydney PEN is seriously concerned about the fate of writer, lawyer and human rights activist Gao Zhisheng, arrested last month in Beijing. Mr Gao, pictured left,  was taken from his home in Beijing and is being held incommunicado. This follows his conviction and sentencing last year on the charge of "suspicion of inciting subversion of state power" for his critical writings and interviews given to overseas media. Gao is known for his writings on social justice, democracy, and the suppression of Falun Gong. In 2005, his legal practice was shut down by authorities and he was placed under heavy surveillance. Join us in writing a letter. See "Action Alerts" to your right.

BURMA UPDATE: Leading comedian and poet Zargana released

PEN welcomes the release of poet and comedian Zargana, who is said to be well though exhausted after his three-week detention. His release was reported on 18 October 2007, although he remains under heavy surveillance and restriction, as he has been for many years. Zargana is among many pro-democracy activists reported to have been arrested in the ongoing government crackdown in Burma, including fellow comedian U Par Par Lay, who is believed to remain detained.  PEN reiterates its concern for the safety of Burmese writers and that their works continue to be censored.

Anita Heiss wins 2007 Scanlon Prize

Congratulations to Sydney PEN member Anita Heiss, winner of the 2007 Scanlon Prize for Poetry for her book I'm Not Racist, But... (Salt 2007). The Scanlon Prize for the Best published collection of poems in English by an Indigenous Australian writer was inaugurated as the Brencorp Prize for Poetry at the 2004 Australian Poetry Festival.

Action Alert! Advisory on events in Burma

Sydney PEN is watching with alarm the unfolding violence in Burma (Myanmar), where peaceful demonstrations led by monks and pro-democracy activists have been viciously suppressed by the military government. For a number of years PEN has been campaigning for the release of nine writers serving prison sentences ranging from seven to twenty-one years and now adds the name of poet and comedian, Zargana (pictured) who is among the many pro-democracy activists reported to have been arrested in recent days. View more information on Wikipedia including YouTube interview 23 September.

“Why Can’t We All Get Along?”

CHRISTOS TSIOLKAS SPEAKS ON TOLERANCE
in conversation with David Marr and introduced by David Williamson AO
6pm Wednesday 14 November 2007
Acclaimed author Christos Tsiolkas will analyse the concept of tolerance in a public lecture and conversation with journalist David Marr on 14 November at The Australian Hall, Sydney. The event is organised by Sydney PEN as the third in a series, Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project. The series of public lectures by three of our leading writers explores the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia. This final event in our series will  include the annual presentation of The Sydney PEN Award in recognising the outstanding support of a PEN member and our International Day of the Imprisoned Writer dedication. Book now to ensure your place at this major event  with MCA Ticketing online or 1300 306 776.

Writer charged, computer and files seized

On August 24, police in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province arrested writer and human rights activist Lu Gengsong (pictured with his wife), later charging him with "inciting subversion of state power". The arrest came after Lu posted articles on the Internet critical of the government. Police searched his home and reportedly seized his computer and personal files. His wife was taken in for questioning as a "criminal suspect" and released three hours later. Lu Gengsong is being held at the West Lake Detention Centre and has reportedly been denied access to a lawyer. Lu is the author of A History of the Chinese Communist Party Corrupt Officials (2000) and has previously been harrassed for his dissident activities. See our Action Alerts, right.

Sydney PEN at 2007 Watermark Literary Muster

Tuesday 2 October – Saturday 6 October
Sydney PEN members John Hughes, Nick Jose, Barabra Brookes and Andrew Reimer feature among the Australian writers that have accepted the invitation to attend the 2007 Muster. They will be joined by Eric Rolls, Patron of the Society, David Rothenberg (USA www.whybirdssing.com) and Judith Binney (NZ) and will explore the topic of migration. Indigenous writer, Pat Torres, from Broome will also join the panel of writers. We expect that the topic of migration will be seen in the broadest possible context . Overall, the Muster will contribute to a greater understanding of the nature of the country in which we live. Further details www.watermarkliterarysociety.asn.au

Gideon Haigh: Sydney PEN lecture on prejudice

ABC Book Show Thursday 27 September 2007 Listen Now 
Over the last 20 years, Gideon Haigh has written widely about sport, especially cricket, and business. But in the second of the series Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project, Haigh looks at the historical divide between nationalism and patriotism in Australia. Haigh's Sydney PEN lecture is based on his essay, Facepaint Patriots. The essay maps nationalism from its Enlightenment origins, through its fascist excesses and its prejudicial overtones, and discusses how Australia arrived at its own sense of nationhood.

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Meg Stewart

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 6 November 2007
Customs House Library
Meeting Room, Level 2
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Highly acclaimed Australian biographer, filmmaker and journalist, Meg Stewart, will read from the recently published revised and expanded Autobiography of My Mother, a biography of her artist mother Margaret Coen, originally published in 1985. 

China NOW 4 October Newcastle

12-1.30pm Saturday 4th October
Join Sydney PEN, Chinese writers and Australian journalists freshly returned from the Olympics to discuss freedom of speech in China right now. Chinese writers have been imprisoned for calling for improved rights or criticising the CCP; how was the entourage of foreign reporters in China treated, whose rules did they obey, and how were they enforced?> More

PEN Reading & Talk with Hanifa Deen 7 October

In March 2002, three Muslim converts attend an Evangelical Christian talk on the inner secrets of ‘Holy Jihad’. Shocked by what they hear, they convince the Islamic Council of Victoria to lodge a complaint against Catch the Fire Ministries Inc, under a controversial new hate speech law. A case expected to be over in three days turns into an unholy war of words lasting five long years – freedom of speech versus freedom from religious vilification is under the spotlight.
Award-winning author Hanifa Deen follows this case from beginning to end, witnessing the religious impulse at its best – and worst in her latest book, The Jihad Seminar . Click here to read the Press Release. Through Deen’s eyes we discover a wider meaning to this conflict as she reads from and discusses The Jihad Seminar with Sydney PEN VP, Dr Ben Saul,  Director, Sydney Centre for International & Global Law at Sydney Law School.

Tuesday 7 October, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

Hanifa Deen is a Melbourne based author and PEN Member. She has served as Hearing Commissioner with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and was also a director on the Board of SBS. Hanifa has written three books including the best-selling Broken Bangles; and award winning Caravanserai; A Journey Among Australian Muslims. (NSW Premiers’ Literary Award)

Melissa Lucashenko on SURVIVAL

Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project
Melissa Lucashenko will deliver the second public lecture in the 2008 series of Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project. She will speak on the subject of SURVIVAL on Wednesday 24 September 2008 in Sydney (followed by a conversation with Fran Kelly), and Thursday 25 September 2008 in Canberra (followed by a conversation with Jack Waterford).

“Traditional Aboriginal culture has been portrayed by many outsiders as embodying the Aussie values of survival. We are told over and over that the Indigenous nations before Cook ‘survived’ a ‘harsh’ terrain and imposed severe initiation rites upon their members in order to ‘endure’. From an Indigenous perspective, however, survivalism is anything but a value worth striving for. It is, rather, the signature value of a degraded and unsophisticated culture of random violence which arrived along with Arthur Phillip, and which has since infiltrated our Indigenous lives. Subjected for centuries to the murders, rapes and other outrages of colonisation, Aboriginal Australia now faces the enormous task of weeding out our internalised violence, and our newly adopted belief that life is not for enjoying, learning and connecting with other peoples, but is simply an ordeal to be endured."

Melissa Lucashenko is an award-winning novelist and essayist who lives between Brisbane and the Bundjalung nation in northern NSW. Her writing explores the stories and passions of ordinary Australians, and has particular reference to Indigenous people, women and the marginalised of all descriptions. Melissa’s novels – including Steam Pigs, Killing Darcy and Hard Yards have won or been short-listed for numerous awards, including the Dobbie, Kibble, Courier Mail Book of the Year, and NSW Premier’s and Commonwealth Writer’s awards. She is currently working on a novel set in northern NSW about love - “many kinds of love - ‘romantic love between a man and a woman, love of Indigenous language, love of friends and love of land and waters.’ Melissa works both as a professional writer, and for the prisoner support organisation Sisters Inside, which she helped to found in the early 90s.
SYDNEY: 6.00 for 6.30pm, Wednesday 24 September 2008
Venue: The Palladium Theatre, Sydney Grammar School, College Street, Darlinghurst
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession plus booking fee (includes light refreshments 6.00-6.30pm)
Bookings: MCA Ticketing on 1300 306 776 or http://www.mca-tix.com
CANBERRA: 5.30 for 6.00pm, Thursday 25 September 2008
Venue: The National Library of Australia, Canberra- followed by a conversation with Canberra Times editor Jack Waterford. Tickets: $22/$12 Concession (includes light refreshments 5.30-6.00pm)
Bookings: Clare Hoey, Director, Manning Clark House on 6295 9433 or director@manningclark.org.au

 Anna Funder will speak on COURAGE at the final 3 Writers Project lecture on 12 November in Sydney and 13 November in Canberra.

Sydney PEN is an association of writers devoted to freedom of expression. In the PEN tradition, there will be an empty chair representing an imprisoned writer at each of these events. The 3 Writers Project is presented with the support of the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL).

Facepaint Patriots

On Wednesday 19th September, Gideon Haigh captivated the audience at The Australian Hall with his passionate and entertaining lecture on his essay Facepaint Patriots. The eloquent David Malouf highlighted the focus of PEN in dedicating the empty chair in honour of the Russian writer and journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in Moscow on 7 October last year.  A lively  'in conversation' with renowned ABC journalist Ramona Koval concluded the event with much applause. Read more ... Facepaint patriots:the phenomen of nationalism , ABC News 19 Sept.

The series of public lectures by three of our leading writers, Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project  explores the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia.  Book now for the final event on 14 November TOLERANCE: Christos Tsiolkas in conversation with David Marr and introduced by David Williamson AO. Acknowledging the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer, the event will conclude with Sydney PEN's presentation of the 2007 Sydney PEN Award.

Vincent Serventy (1916-2007)

Renowned environmentalist, writer and Life Member of Sydney PEN, Vincent Serventy has died aged 91. Green before it was fashionable...

International PEN Writers in Prison Committee

Half Year Case List  January-June 2007
WiPC monitored over 780 cases in the period. Particularly concerning is the high numbers of killings among them, 39 in this period, especially worrying when compared with the total number of 47 recorded for the whole of 2006. The rise is mostly accounted for by the murders of Iraqi translators and journalists, a shocking total of 18 in the past six months. Long term imprisonment remains a significant concern with just over 200 detained for periods ranging from a few months to several years. Most of these – 73 – are held in Asia, 39 of whom are in Chinese prisons. The Americas and Africa each have just over 30 writers imprisoned, mainly held in Cuba and Eritrea.  More...

To Be Translated or Not To Be

PEN/IRL Report on the International Situation of Literary Translation. More...

Collaboration Supports New Writing From Asia & Pacific

An initiative to support new creative writing from Asia and the Pacific brings together academics and literati from Australia, Asia, the Pacific islands and beyond to launch the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership at the 2007 Ubud Writers’ Festival in Bali this September. The Partnership supports diversity of cultural expression, and literature that crosses borders. It champions the notion that literature enhances understanding between cultures and seeks to create stronger international interest in new writing from the region.  Read more...

'Freedom of Speech' 17 October

12.30-1.30pm Wednesday 17 October
Sydney Mechanics School of Arts
Level 1, 280 Pitt St, Sydney
FREE Admission

Alli Barnard from Sydney PEN's Young Writers Committee joins Stephen Blanks, Secretary of NSW Council for Civil Liberties in the Civil Liberties Conversation series at SMSA. The NSW Council of Civil Liberties states that "freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental of all freedoms in a free and democratic society". Is this basic right being compromised in Australia? How much censorship really goes on in 2007? More details..

BURMA: Another leading comedian and former PEN main case U Par Par Lay arrested

According to PEN’s information, U Par Par Lay was arrested on 25 September 2007 in Mandalay. He is among several leading pro-democracy activists and public figures to be detained in the crackdown, including fellow comedian Zargana as noted below. Amnesty International has the following further information (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/mmr-051007-feature-eng). U Par Par Lay was a Main Case of PEN from March 1996 to July 2001 when he was imprisoned for, among other things, scripting and performing comedies that criticised the Burmese authorities.  PEN has received information that Par Par Lay was released in early November 2007. 

Seven sentences put Chinese writer in jail

Sydney PEN is deeply concerned at the verdict and sentencing on August 14 of Chen Shuqing to four years in prison for "inciting subversion of state power". Chen was convicted for two articles he wrote for the banned magazine of the banned Chinese Democratic Party and five articles wirtten for various overseas publications and websites. Chen's case was twice turned back to the police for insufficient evidence. In the end he was convicted for seven sentences in the articles. Chen was sentenced by the Intermediate People's Court in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, to four years in prison and one year's deprivation of political rights. Chen's lawyer Li Jianqiang has just learned that his licence to practice law in Shandong province to the north has not been renewed.  See Action Alerts, right.

Writers released after completing sentences

China: Journalists Zhao Yan and Li Yuanlong, editor Mao Qingxiang and independent publisher Cai Zhuohua have been released from prison after completing their sentences. Sydney PEN welcomes their release but remains of the view their conviction and sentencing were unjust. > More

Silencing even good sense

Dr Ben Saul critiques the new terrorism censorship laws ...

PEN lunchtime reading with Ashley Hay 2 October

Author and Sydney PEN member, Ashley Hay , will read from her new book Museum. 

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 2 October 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

To be published in November, Museum was created in collaboration with Australian photographer Robyn Stacey and draws on stories from the University of Sydney’s Macleay Museum and its rich and largely unknown collection. She is the author of three earlier works of non-fiction including The Secret: The Strange Marriage of Annabella Milbanke and Lord Byron, which has been likened to the literary style of Jane Austen, and Herbarium, also in collaboration with Robyn Stacey. Hay has also written a wide range of essays, short stories and articles that have appeared in The Independent Monthly, The Monthly, Best Australian Essays, The Writer’s Reader and When Books Die.

Sydney PEN lunchtime readings for 2007 occur on the first Tuesday of the month at Customs House Library throughout 2007, except for September. Future PEN writers for 2007 include Meg Stewart 6 November and Di Morrisey 4 December.

Sydney PEN at National Young Writers Festival 1 October

Shooting the messenger  From Iran to Afghanistan and back to our own shores, censorship, resistance, dissenting voices, persecution: hear first-hand accounts from refugee writers, social activists and experts on the ways in which governments inhibit our most basic human right, freedom of speech.  Presented by Sydney PEN and chaired by Hugo Bowne-Anderson, this discussion features authors Abdul Hekmat, Mohsen Soltany Zand, Sarah Maddison, Zanny Begg who have experienced direct censorship. It looks at the current state of press freedom both internationally and closer to home, and what happens to dissenting voices in Australia. 2007 National Young Writers Festival 27 Sept - 1 Oct: visit www.nywf.org.au  for full details.

PEN Lunchtime Reading with Anna Funder

Tuesday 2 September, 2008
12.15pm – 12.45pm
Customs House Library
Level 2 Meeting Room
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
Free Admission/Bookings Essential:
Ph 9242 8555/ Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Photo by Martine Archambault

Anna will read from a work in progress on her new book, a novel which,  like Stasiland,  examines courage and capitulation in times of terror.

Anna Funder is the author of Stasiland, stories of people who heroically resisted the communist dictatorship of East Germany, and of people who worked for its secret police, the Stasi. Stasiland was shortlisted for many prizes in Australia and Britain and in 2004 received the world’s largest non-fiction award, the BBC 4 Samuel Johnson Prize.

Siobhan Dowd, writer and leading light of PEN for over 20 years has died of cancer on 21 August aged 47

Siobhan's mark on this world has been immense. Over her twenty years at PEN, she campaigned for hundreds, maybe thousands, of writers world wide who were suffering persecution. Her love of life, enthusiasm for writing, love of people - particularly adolescents, humour, capacity for friendship, and literary talent will long be remembered. She is greatly missed.

> More

Indigenous Literacy Day 5 September

Can you imagine a world without books and reading?

"World Without Books" Forum
6-7pm Wednesday 5 September 2007
Metcalfe Auditorium, State Library of NSW, Macquarie St, Sydney
Entry by donation
RSVP to karen@worldwithoutbooks.org or (02) 9273 1770 

As part of this year's events, Sydney PEN joins with the Indigenous Literacy Project initiative to present, with the support of Sydney Writers Festival and the Australian Society of Authors, a conversation between some of Australia's finest writers on the importance of reading - not just in terms of their profession, but in how we all interact with the world. As the Sydney PEN slogan suggests, the freedom to write is always coupled with the freedom to read. Join in the conversation with David Malouf, Tara June Winch, Catherine Jinks, Tommy Murphy and others. Click here for full details or visit the website www.worldwithoutbooks.org

Worldwide Reading for Zimbabwe 9 September

Join us for a worldwide reading of Zimbabwean poets in support of democracy and media freedom in Zimbabwe.
2.30 for 3pm, Sunday 9th September 2007
Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Pt Rd, Glebe
Free Admittance

On September 9 the world will be listening to the words of Chenjerai Hove, Dambudzo Marechera, and Chirikuré Chirikuré. Taking part in the Sydney reading organised by Sydney PEN and the Zimbabwe Information Centre, hosted by Gleebooks, are leading pro democracy activist, Sekai Holland and former General Secretary of the Zimbabwe National Union of Students, Tinashe Chimedza, as well as Australian poets Judith Beveridge, Stephen Edgar and Geoffrey Lehmann.
> More

VALE MONA BRAND Playwright, poet and Life Member of Sydney PEN, Mona Brand has died at 91.

More..

Indigenous Literacy Day Performance & Panel Discussion 3 September

Don’t miss out on this fabulous FREE event!
Wednesday 3 September, 6.30-7.30pm
State Library of New South Wales, Macquarie Street Sydney
Click here for details and booking information
Sydney PEN is proud to present a wonderful celebration of Indigenous Literacy Day in conjunction with the Indigenous Literacy Project and the State Library of NSW.
    Join host Julianne Schultz (editor, Griffith Review) for a lively panel discussion and performances from the new Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature to celebrate and raise money for Indigenous Literacy Day on Wednesday 3 September.
    The Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) is a national initiative of the Australian Book Industry that aims to address the literacy crisis in remote Indigenous communities. Working with the Fred Hollows Foundation, the ILP fundraises to buy books and literacy resources for remote Indigenous communities. The project has been running for the past three years and this year aims to raise $250,000 for remote communities in the Northern Territory, Western Australia, north-west NSW and Queensland. Further information is available at: www.worldwithoutbooks.org

PEN at Brisbane Writers Festival 12 September

Victoria Glendinning is an award-winning British biographer, novelist and critic. She is a member of English PEN. Her biographies include Trollope, Edith Sitwell and Vita Sackville-West and most recently, Leonard Woolf: A Life . Her best-known novel is Electricity. Victoria Glendinning will be appearing at the Brisbane Writer's Festival opening ceremony on:
12 September 2007,  7pm - 8pm
Venue: Auditorium 1, State Library Qld
Tickets: Full $60, Concessions $50
Bookings essential. Tickets available at qtix
Brisbane Writers Festival  12 - 16 September 2007

A strong start to the 2008 Voices: 3 Writers Project

Approximately 100 members and friends of Sydney PEN attended Christopher Kremmer’s lecture on GREED, the first in our 2008 series Voices: 3 Writers, on Wednesday 30 July at Sydney Grammar School.  View photos here.
Christopher’s wide-ranging lecture considered the historical and cultural factors that shaped Australians’ attitude to charitable giving, and attracted considerable media attention by proposing the reintroduction of death duties. The lecture was recorded by SlowTV, and you can view it here. > More

NEXT in our Sydney PEN Voices lecture series on issues of concern

GIDEON HAIGH on PREJUDICE, followed by an 'in conversation' with ABC journalist Ramona Koval. Introduced by David Malouf AO.

19 September 2007, Wednesday 6 for 6.30pm
Venue: The Australian Hall, 150-152 Elizabeth Street ,Sydney (nearest cross street Goulburn; nearest rail station Museum)
Tickets: $22/$12 Concession. Booking fees apply. Bookings: MCA Ticketing on 1300 306 776 or http://www.mca-tix.com

Award-winning author, Gideon Haigh, has written extensively about business and sport, including his great passion cricket, contributing to a range of newspapers, magazines and journals in Australia and overseas. He has written 17 books and edited six in 23 years as a journalist. Asbestos House, The Secret History of James Hardie Industries, won the NSW Premier’s Literary Award Gleebooks Prize 2007. His most recent book is All Out: The Ashes 2006-7.

Gideon Haigh's lecture is the second in our series of public lectures by three of our leading emerging writers who will explore the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia. Sydney PEN has commissioned Alexis Wright, Gideon Haigh and Christos Tsiolkas to each write a 10,000-word essay on the topics of fear, tolerance and prejudice. The three essays will be published by Allen & Unwin in 2008 with an introduction by Nobel Laureate JM Coetzee.

TOLERANCE: 14 November 2007. Lecture by Christos Tsiolkas followed by an 'in conversation' with David Marr and introduced by David Williamson AO.
Click here to download the brochure. > More

PEN Poem Relay - Take Action!

You can help us carry the torch for freedom of expression on the eve of the Olympic Games
On the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games, Sydney PEN would like to ask you as a member and supporter to help spread the word about the extraordinary achievement of the International PEN Poem Relay over the past six months. Organisers of the Poem Relay learned on August 5 that the PEN Poem Relay website – which uses poetry and translation to send a message about freedom of expression in China – has been blocked in mainland China.

There are two ways you can help:
1. Read the press release that has been distributed internationally and to up to date information on the “poetry petition” sent to Chinese authorities as noted below.
2. Forward this open letter to your friends and associates. The letter highlights the serious plight of the 42 writers currently imprisoned or otherwise detained in China and explains the purpose of the Poem Relay for those who might not already be familiar with it.

We thank you for your continued support.

The International PEN Poem Relay Ends with Global Call for Freedom of  Expression in China
www.penpoemrelay.org.
* PEN Poem Relay Sends "Poetic Petition" to the Chinese Authorities
* 125 Translations into 98 Languages Produced
* Book of PEN Poem Relay to be Published
In the final countdown to the Beijing Olympics, the International PEN Poem Relay has sent a "Poetic Petition" to the Chinese authorities, including all the translations of Shi Tao's poem "June" produced as part of this historic poetic journey around the world. Click here for the Press Release, Press Kit and further information. ADDENDUM: Organisers of the PEN Poem Relay have been informed that as of August 5, the PEN Poem Relay website – which uses poetry and translation to send a message about the freedom of expression in China – has been blocked in mainland China.
Join the China Campaign. Three days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing on 8 August 2008, PEN  urges the Chinese government to affirm its commitment to promoting the spirit of the Olympic ideal by: releasing all writers and journalists currently imprisoned and stop detaining, harassing, and censoring writers and journalists in China; end Internet censorship, and reform laws used to imprison writers and journalists and suppress freedom of expression; abide by its pledge that "there will be no restrictions on media reporting and movement of journalists up to and including the Olympic Games".

73rd International PEN Congress calls for end to insult and defamation laws and to honour the protection of linguistic rights

‘The Word, the World and Human Values’
PEN staged its 73rd Congress in Dakar, Senegal from 4 – 11 July, with more than 200 writers from over 70 countries gathering to celebrate the wealth of world literature and particularly African literature. Writers from across Africa and from every continent  engaged in cultural exchanges, shared literary achievements, and highlighted cases of repression of writers and abuses of freedom of expression.  Read Press release.

Sydney PEN 's Joint Submission

Sydney PEN makes a joint submission to the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs on a proposed law to ban publications and films which “advocate” or “praise” terrorism, July 2007. Click here to read the submission.

Alexis Wright joins Sydney PEN Writers Advisory Panel

We are delighted to announce that Alexis Wright has joined the panel of distinguished writers supporting Sydney PEN.  
Alexis was recently awarded the Australian Literature Society (ALS) Gold Medal for her latest novel, Carpentaria, as well as the 2007 Miles Franklin Award (Read more...) Alexis's lecture on Fear, delivered to a near capacity crowd at The Australian Hall on 4 July, was an inspiring start to our Sydney PEN Voices series. It was broadcast on the ABC Radio National's Bookshow 6 July andattracted significant media attention, including Alexis's interview with Philip Adams on Late Night Live on 3 July. View photos...

Book now to ensure a seat at the next events in the Sydney PEN Voices lecture series :
PREJUDICE: 19 September 2007. Lecture by Gideon Haigh followed by an 'in conversation' with Ramona Koval. Introduced by David Malouf AO
TOLERANCE: 14 November 2007. Lecture by Christos Tsiolkas followed by an 'in conversation' with David Marr. Introduced by David Williamson AO.

Sydney PEN Voices: The 3 Writers Project

THREE WRITERS, THREE ISSUES, THREE VOICES
A series of public lectures by three of our leading emerging writers will explore the prickly issues facing contemporary Australia. Sydney PEN has commissioned Alexis Wright, Gideon Haigh and Christos Tsiolkas to each write a 10,000-word essay on the topics of fear, tolerance and prejudice. They will also deliver a lecture based on their essay followed by an in-depth conversation with three of Australia’s best journalists.
Click here to download the brochure.

Father Nguyen Van Ly made Honorary Member

Honorary Membership of Sydney PEN has recently been awarded to Father Nguyen Van Ly of Vietnam. Making writers in prison Honorary Members of PEN is one of our most successful strategies for raising these writers' profile, and in some cases, winning their release. Sydney PEN thanks member, Dr Derek Whitehead who will be supporting Fr Van Ly and his family.

Good News from Vietnam

We are now delighted to be able to advise our members that Nguyen Vu Binh was released from prison on 9 June and although he will now continue to suffer strict house arrest

Shi Tao's Mother Accepts Award with Pride

June 4, 2007: Shi Tao, the Chinese poet and journalist who is serving a ten year prison sentence for his reporting, was awarded the Golden Pen by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) at their annual Congress in Cape Town, South Africa. Shi Tao, who is a member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre and an Honorary Member of Sydney PEN, was represented by his mother Gao Qinsheng (pictured), who travelled to Cape Town to accept the award on the 18th annivesary of the June 4 crackdown: "He has only done what a courageous journalist should do. That is why he has got the support and the sympathy from his colleagues all over the world who uphold justice, the colleagues who have been concerned about Shi Tao who has lost his freedom, been locked up in prison...I am proud to have such a son as Shi Tao." Read Gao Qinsheng's statement here. Read more about Shi Tao here.

PEN lunchtime reading with Dr Anita Heiss 7 August

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 7 August 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

One of Australia's most prolific and well known indigenous authors and Sydney PEN member, Dr Anita Heiss will read from her recently published book I'm not a racist, but..., and talk about Yirra and her deadly dog, Demon, written by children from La Perouse Public School. More...

NSW Premier's Literary Award Winners

Sydney PEN would like to congratulate the winners of the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, especially the members of Sydney PEN. Writers Panel member, John Tranter (pictured) won the Kenneth Slessor Prize for poetry against one of the strongest fields of contenders ever, including Les Murray, Robert Adamson, Laurie Duggan and Fay Zwicky. Tommy Murphy won the Play Award for the second year in a row (last year, aged 26, he was the youngest winner ever) for Holding the Man, which he introduced at the Sydney PEN members night at the Griffin. Gideon Haigh, one of the writers in Sydney PEN's Three Writers Project, won the Gleebooks Prize for Asbestos House: The Secret History of James Hardie Industries (Scribe).

The biennial Translation Prize and PEN Medallion, co-sponsored by Sydney PEN, was awarded to John Nieuwenhuizen for excellence in literary translation across a body of work, including Guus Kuijer's The Book of Everything, Jan Simoen's And What About Anna?  and Anne Provoost's Falling. Sydney PEN Vice President Sally Blakeney chaired the judges panel for the Translation Award. Read the judges citation.

American PEN World Voices Weekend

Visit American PEN's World Voices weekend and listen to Nadine Gordimer, David Grossman, Kiran Desai, Salman Rushdie and many more, including  readings and performances by  Guillermo Arriaga, Oliver Lake, Victoria Roberts, Sam Shepard and Patti Smith. 

Olympic Hurdles for Foreign Journalists in China

Press freedoms recently granted to foreign journalists in China appear to be even more temporary and less free than earlier announced. Late last year the Chinese government announced a relaxation on limits placed on foreign journalists posted in China. While this measure was only to last until December 2008 -- four months after the Beijing Olympics -- and only applies to non-Chinese registered journalists, Human Rights Watch has catalogued a number of recent restrictions that undermine even this temporary press freedom. BBC reporter James Reynolds was stopped by the military when reporting on the aftermath of a riot in Hunan province. Reynolds was reportedly told the new regulations were "only for Olympics-related stories". The Beijing Olymipcs Service Guide for Foreign Media explicitly says journalists have permission to cover "political, economic, social and cultural matters of China". Read an IFEX summary of reports from Human Rights Watch, Reporters without Borders and others.

Attorney-General Proposes Legislation to Ban Works Advocating Terrorism

The Attorney General Philip Ruddock has released a discussion paper containing proposed legislation to ensure the banning of material that advocates terrorism.  The Discussion Paper outlines a proposal for amendments to the national Classification Code and the Classification guidelines to ensure that material that advocates terrorist acts is refused classification. Read the News Release 3 May 2007 'Action on Material Advocating Terrorism'.  Read the joint submission by Sydney PEN, Sydney Centre for International and Global Law and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights,  which makes a strong case against the proposed changes, not least on the basis of the detrimental impacts on freedom of expression.

Sydney Writers Festival

The tenth Sydney Writers Festival, from Monday 28 May to Sunday 3 June. The Sydney PEN session at the Festival is titled, 'The Freedom to Write' on Sunday, June 3 2007, 11:30 -13:00   SDC 4 and  features Bei Ling, Rawi Hage (pictured ), Eliot Weinberger and Adib Khan discussing freedom of expression with Angela Bowne, President of Sydney PEN.

Other Sydney PEN Members participating in the festival include David Malouf, Kate Grenville, Frank Moorhouse, Nick Jose, Kathy Bail, Tom Keneally, Alison Broinowski, Hugo Bowne-Anderson, Ashley Hay, Caroline Lurie, Robert Drewe, Libby Gleeson, Bonny Cassidy, Christopher Kremmer, Johanna Featherstone, Elizabeth Stead, Jane Palfreyman, Louis Nowra,  Miles Merrill, Ruby Langford-Ginibi, and Anita Heiss. For further details, please visit: Sydney Writers Festival home page; Sydney Writers Festival program.

PEN lunchtime reading with Elizabeth Stead

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 5 June 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission
(Photo © Rex Dupain)

Elizabeth Stead will read from her stunning fourth novel, The Gospel of Gods and Crocodiles. This novel is both a clever parody of colonialism and religious imperialism and a compelling narrative which overflows with larger-than-life characters. It is suffused with Elizabeth Stead’s unique literary style and humour.
More...

Reply to Gerard Henderson's Assertions

Gerard Henderson's assertions in the Sydney Morning Herald ('Hate in the name of free speech', 17 April 2007) regarding Sydney PEN’s position on the censorship of Islamist material are factually incorrect in several respects.

Read Sydney PEN President Angela Bowne's letter to the Sydney Morning Herald in reply to Mr Henderson's article.

Learn about translation, the invisible art which protects our freedom to read and write across linguistic and national boundaries.

A remarkable PEN event on June 27 brings together the Australian-based translators of two of the world's greatest writers Emile Zola and Marcel Proust. Zola, the prolific author of novels which exposed the corruption of Second Empire France, was sentenced to a year's imprisonment in 1898 because of what he wrote in defence of Alfred Dreyfus. Published at the start of the twentieth century, Proust's masterpiece, "A la recherche du temps perdu" changed the landscape of the novel forever. Zola translator, Brian Nelson, The Professor of French Studies at Monash University, will be joined by Proust's James Grieve, who is a Visiting Fellow in French at the Australian National University for a very special discussion organized by Sydney PEN and the State Library of New South Wales. Professor Nelson has translated and edited four of Zola's novels for Oxford World's Classics. James Grieve is the translator of colume two of Penguin's daring and controversial collaboration version of Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu" , the first completely new English translation of the classic since the 1920s. Don't miss a special insight into the invisible art which protects our freedom to read and write across linguistic and national boundaries:
Translators at the State Library of New South Wales,  Wednesday 27 June 2007,  5.30 pm for 6 pm till 7.15pm Dixson Room, Mitchell Wing, State Library of NSW . Cost: $15, includes light refreshments. Bookings on 02 9273 1770 or bookings@sl.nsw.gov.au

Young Writers Committee

The Sydney PEN management committee would like to congratulate Bonny Cassidy, a young Sydney poet, on her election to the Young Writers Committee (YWC). We also congratulate the YWC for providing the names of writers for the very successful 'empty chair' at all the Sydney Writers Festival events this year and for the invitation to address the Assembly of Delegates at the International PEN Congress in Dakar in July 2007.  > More

PEN lunchtime reading with Tom Keneally 3 July

Best-selling author and Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Tom Keneally will read from unpublished material; a Russian novel, and Searching for Schindler.

12.15-12.45pm
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Tom Keneally began his highly successful writing career in 1964. He won the Booker prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark, which Stephen Speilberg made into the Academy Award winning film Schindler's List. He is the author of nine works of non-fiction including his massive bestseller The Great Shame, and has written 26 works of fiction...more

PEN Marks World Press Freedom Day

On 3 May 2007 World Press Freedom Day, International PEN joins other freedom of expression organisations worldwide in honouring journalists who have been killed in the practice of their professions -- including Guillermo Cano Isazo, a Colombian journalist who was shot dead in December 1986 and whose death remains unresolved; Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and Hrant Dink, the editor of an Amenian-language newspaper in Turkey.

PEN Hong Kong Conference: Gao Yu

"Every person who has lived under mainland China's totalitarian, despotic system has experienced having their emotions suppressed. My experience of this started when I was eight."

Read the full text of Gao Yu's speech to the International PEN Asia and Pacific Regional Conference held in Hong Kong, February 2-5, 2007: The Suppression of Feelings Leads to the Loss of Freedom.
> More

Philip Roth Wins First PEN/Saul Bellow Award

The acclaimed novelist Philip Roth is the first recipient of the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction. The Award carries with it a payment of $40,000 and celebrates the work of one of America’s greatest writers, Saul Bellow.

Philip Roth is the author of more than 20 works of fiction. His new novel, Exit Ghost, will be published in October 2007. He has been honoured with many awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award three times and in 2006 the PEN/Nabokov Award for “a body of work…of enduring originality and consummate craftsmanship.”

Read more here and on American PEN’s website  

Kurt Vonnegut, American PEN member, dies at 84

Kurt Vonnegut was a very active member of Amercan PEN, serving on its board for 14 years and as vice-president and regularly taking on censorship issues for PEN. Some of his own books were banned and burned for alleged obscenity. In an interview with the conservative commentator William F Buckley in the 1980s, Vonnegut and the then American PEN president, Norman Mailer, staunchly defended PEN's role as a non-political organisation. Read the NY Times obituary.

Vietnam: Editor and priest Nguyen Van Ly sentenced to eight years in prison.

Sydney PEN protests the eight-year prison sentence handed down to magazine editor and Catholic priest Father Nguyen Van Ly on 30 March 2007. PEN considers Father Nguyen Van Ly to be detained in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. Father Ly reportedly went on hunger strike when he was detained on 19 February 2007 and concerns for his physical welfare remain. Read more...

China: Prominent writer Zhang Jianhong (aka Li Hong) sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Sydney PEN protests the six-year prison sentence handed down to prominent writer Zhang Jianhong (aka Li Hong) on 19 March 2007 on subversion charges for his critical writings. Zhang is appealing the sentence. Read more...

Chinese Journalist Gao Yu on Her Choice of a Pen

Also marking World Press Freedom Day is a collection of articles, Press Under Surveillance, arranged by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN). Contributions include an interview with Gao Yu, the Chinese journalist who was a guest of the International PEN Asia and Pacific Regional Conference in Hong Kong. Gao Yu (pictured on her release in 1999) has been imprisoned twice in China -- first on the eve of the massacre in Beijing in 1989, and in 1994 for her reporting in newspapers in Hong Kong. WAN's interview was arranged with the assistance of PEN conference organisers. (After going to the WAN World Press Freedom Day site, click Texts.)

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

Please click here for other international updates and article archives.

Nicholas Jose: PEN Customs House Reading

12.45-1.15pm
Tuesday 1 May 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Nicholas will read from two very different books, his most recent thriller Original Face and Paper Nautilus. Nicholas Jose grew up in South Australia and has lived and worked in Britain, Italy and China. He has published short stories, essays, translations, several acclaimed novels. His most recent book is a novel, Original Face (2005).

Sydney PEN lunchtime readings for 2007 will occur on the first Tuesday of the month at Customs House Library throughout 2007. Future PEN writers for 2007 include Elizabeth Stead 5 June, and Tom Keneally 3 July.

2007 International PEN Congress

The Congress will take place 4th to 11th July, 2007 in Dakar, Senegal. All members of PEN are welcome to attend the Congress.
Another first for Sydney PEN in the International PEN organisation is our Young Writers Committee (pictured L-R: Jeff Errington, Richard Renshaw, Bonny Symons-Brown, Nick Landreth, Hugo Bowne-Anderson). This year members of Sydney PEN's Young Writers Committee have been invited to the Congress to address the delegates.

Please click here for information on the programme and how to register .

Women Writers Conference in Dakar, July 2007

International PEN and the Women Writers Committee are delighted to invite you to a Women Writers' Conference, which will take place in Dakar, Senegal 11th to 13th July immediately following the 2007 PEN Congress. The conference will focus on issues concerning women writers in Africa but will be open to all PEN members who would like to attend. Please contact IPWWC Chair, Judith Buckrich at buckrich@bigpond.net.au for information.

All information about International PEN Women's Committee activities can be found at http://www.ipwwc.org

Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, 2007

25-30 September: Bali, Indonesia

The Ubud Writers & Readers Festival is one of the peak literary events in the Asian region. This year Sydney PEN will be sponsoring a session featuring former Sydney PEN President, Nicholas Jose, in-conversation with Chinese writers Su Tong and XinRan'. 

Vietnam Update

Crackdown on leading pro-democracy activists and writers continues.
PEN is seriously concerned about the detention of lawyers and internet writers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan (f), who were reportedly arrested on 6 March 2007 for their critical writings and dissident activities. PEN is alarmed about an apparent crackdown on leading pro-democracy figures in recent weeks, including Father Nguyen Van Ly, who has been held under house arrest since 19 February 2007. Read more..

PEN In Translation

Read Chris Andrews' translation of "Dance Card", by the late Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, which is published on the American PEN website (www.pen.org). Chris was the recipient of American PEN's 2005 PEN Translation Fund Award for his translation of Roberto Bolaño's Last Evenings on Earth (New Directions, 2006). Chris is a Sydney PEN member and past recipient of the NSW Premier's Translation Award and PEN medallion, which will be awarded again this year.> More

International PEN Calls for Freedom of Expression in China

2007 International PEN Asia and Pacific Regional Conference
Theme: Writers in the Chinese World: A Literary Exchange
2nd to 5th February 2007

Press Release, HONG KONG Feb. 5, 2007, 10.30 am: In a historic meeting of writers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, along with writers from a dozen other countries, International PEN launched a dialogue on literature and free expression this past weekend in Hong Kong. International PEN’s Asia and Pacific Regional Conference was marred, however, by the absence of over 20 mainland Chinese writers who were either warned off coming or were denied exit permits by the Chinese authorities. One writer, Qin Geng, had his permit rescinded. Two other writers, Zan Aizong and Zhao Dagong, were stopped at the border at the weekend and denied permission to exit China even though they had both obtained permits in advance.

Sydney PEN delegates attended the International PEN Asia and Pacific Regional Conference in Hong Kong thanks to support from Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and the University of Adelaide.

Hong Kong Conference Media

The International PEN Asia and Pacific Regional Conference was covered widely by Hong Kong and International media. For a sample of clippings, go to PEN Conference Hong Kong under Media.

ABC Programme on Orhan Pamuk Wins Prize

ABC TV's Foreign Correspondent won a gold prize at the New York Television Festival recently for its coverage last year of the charges against Orhan Pamuk under Turkey's Article 301. The programme followed Sydney PEN's campaign on behalf of Pamuk. The programme also included interview and sequences featuring Hrant Dink, the writer and editor recently shot dead in Istanbul. Read the transcript of the programme.

Turkey, 19 January: Murder of Hrant Dink

The murder today, 19 January 2007, of Armenian-Turkish writer and editor Hrant Dink, the courageous and principled advocate for dialogue and understanding between the Armenian minority and the Turks, is an appalling act. Hrant Dink’s fellow writers worldwide express their profound shock at this terrible loss. Hrant Dink was well known to PEN members throughout the world and had received many awards for his courage, including, most recently, the Oxfam/Novib award for Freedom of Expression in November 2006. PEN sends its condolences to Hrant Dink’s wife and children. More....

Elisio Cunguara released from Villawood

Sydney PEN member and talented writer, Elisio Cunguara was released from Villawood Detention Centre just before christmas. Sydney PEN has been one of many advocates for his release since his detention some 18 months before. > More

Thaung Tun Released After 6 Years in Prison

Myanmar: Sydney PEN welcomes the release on 3 January 2007 of journalist Thaung Tun after serving six years of an eight year sentence. He is among a total of 2,832 detainees released as part of a New Year amnesty by the military junta. No other main cases of PEN are known to have been included in the amnesty. PEN remains concerned that at least 9 other writers continue to be detained in Myanmar solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to free expression and therefore in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Read more...

PEN Customs House Reading: James Bradley 6 March

12.45-1.15pm, Tuesday 6 March 2007
Customs House Library, Level 1 Lounge
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Award-winning novelist, James Bradley will read from his new novel, The Resurrectionist, a gothic thriller set in the stark, sinister and compelling underworld of the 19th century trade in stolen bodies. He is the author of two novels, Wrack and The Deep Field, a book of poetry, Paper Nautilus and the editor of Blur, a collection of stories by young Australian writers. Wrack won the Fellowship of Australian Writers Literature Award and the Kathleen Mitchell Literary Award, and was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. The Deep Field won The Age Fiction Book of the Year Award. Both novels have been published overseas and have been widely translated. He is a well-respected critic and regularly reviews for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Sydney PEN lunchtime readings for 2007 will occur on the first Tuesday of the month at Customs House Library throughout 2007. PEN writers for 2007 include  Anne Summers (3 April) and Nicholas Jose (1 May).

PEN at Perth Writers Festival

www.perthfestival.com.au

"An Evening with David Malouf", Saturday 24 February, Winthrop Hall
Sydney PEN Writers Panel Member, David Malouf is internationally recognised as one of Australia's finest writers. His new book, Every Move You Make, is a collection of tender and unsettlingly intimate short stories of lives played out against the backdrop of the vast Australian continent. An enchanting collection of vivid stories with diverse and rich characters, the book confirms his position as master storyteller. He joins Veronica Brady in conversation about his life and his latest work that reveals a writer at the peak of his powers.

8 March International Womens' Day

PEN commemorates those women who have come under attack for their writing. Read more..

Court dismisses charges against Lydia Cacho

Mexico: Sydney PEN welcomes the news that on 2 January 2007 the criminal defamation case against writer Lydia Cacho was dismissed. Lydia Cacho was accused on 16 December 2005 on charges of calumny and defamation by businessman Kamel Nacif Borge for her book “Los Demonios del Edén” for which she faced up to five years in prison. However, article 214 of the Federal District  Penal Code for Mexico, which penalised defamation as a criminal charge, was removed from the Code on 8 August 2006. As a result of these changes the court reviewed Cacho’s case and declared it void. There will be no further judicial action. PEN thanks all who supported Lydia Cacho and sent appeals to the Mexican authorities. More.. 

Ipek Calislar Acquitted, Trials of Others Continue

Turkey: The acquittal on 21 December 2006 of author Ipek Calislar, who was accused of insulting the memory of Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Turkish Republic, in her biography of his first wife, is warmly welcomed by Sydney PEN. PEN remains concerned that other writers and journalists remain on trial in Turkey on charges of insult despite suggestions that there will be legislative changes towards improving the protection of the right to freedom of expression. Read more...

Kurdish PEN Member Sherko Jihano Detained

Iran, 18 December 2006: PEN is extremely concerned for the safety of Iranian Kurdish journalist, human rights activist and member of Kurdish PEN Sherko Jihano, who has been held incommuncado since 27 November 2006. His whereabouts are unknown, and he is feared to be at risk of ill-treatment. International PEN seeks immediate assurances of his health and safety, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release if held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory. Read more...

Australian Literature: Does It Have a Future

"Debate on Aussie literature a horror story for our greats"
Rosemary Neill, The Australian, 22 March 2007

5.30 for 6.00pm, Wednesday 21 March 2007
Mitchell Theatre, Sydney Mechanics’ School of Arts
Level 1, 280 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000
RSVP: (02) 9262 7300 or programs@sydneymsa.com.au
FREE ADMISSION - Bookings advisable!

Early in December 2006, the Weekend Australian's Review section featured an article on the teaching of Australian Literature in our universities entitled 'Lost for Words'. It noted that undergraduates seemed less interested in studying Australian writing than in the past and put forward various theories as to why this had occurred. The article attracted much comment, including claims that there needed to be more teaching of Australian literature in secondary schools as well.

As a follow-up, Sydney PEN has organised a panel to discuss how much Australian literature is currently read, as well as how much was, is and should be studied at school and university. Elizabeth Webby, Professor of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney, will be the participating chair and other panellists include well-known writers Delia Falconer, John Hughes and Emily Maguire, who are also teachers of literature and creative writing. More...

PEN at Adelaide Festival Fringe

Adelaide PEN Presents Imprisoned Writers' Readings at WORD in the Adelaide Festival Fringe: March 21st - 23rd
Adelaide Fringe invited Adelaide PEN to organize a series of readings for its inaugural WORD event. WORD creates a literary space in what, ‘till now, was an event dominated by the performing arts. The Imprisoned Writers' Readings will be held at the newly-created Fringe Factory Theatre on Mellor Street in Adelaide. More....

PEN Customs House Reading: Anne Summers

12.45-1.15pm
Tuesday 3 April 2007
Customs House Library
Barnet Long Room, Level 1 
31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Best-selling author and journalist  Anne Summers will read from a work in progress, a piece of non-fiction tentatively titled The Lost Mother. This work represents a significant change in direction for Anne whose previous books have had a political focus and have especially looked at issues to do with women’s equality. She is the author of the now classic Damned Whores and God’s Police which is still in print 31 years after it was first published in 1975, of her autobiography Ducks on the Pond (Penguin 1999) and The End of Equality (published in 2003 by Random House).

Anne’s new book is about the search for a portrait by the Melbourne artist Constance Stokes in 1933 painted when the subject – Anne’s mother – was just ten years of age. Stokes painted two portraits of the schoolgirl Tuni Hogan, one of her in school uniform and holding a copy of an Alice in Wonderland book; the other, more intriguingly, depicted her as the Madonna. It is this picture that is missing, and the search for it is the subject of Anne’s next book.

Sydney PEN @ the Ensemble: Lotte's Gift by David Williamson

Lotte's Gift written and directed by David Williamson 23 February 2007

Our two evenings at the Griffin Theatre for the sold-out new plays of PEN members Louis Nowra and Tommy Murphy were brilliant and buzzy! Please book soon for Lotte's Gift, the latest play by Sydney PEN Writers Panel member David Williamson at the Ensemble Theatre, and bring your families and friends! David Williamson will introduce the play at 8 pm.

Date: Friday 23 February 2007 Time: 8.15pm
Venue: Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli
Bookings: Ensemble (02) 9929 0644 noting you are booking for the PEN evening.
Cost: $47.00 per person ($10 off the normal full-price of tickets); $23 for full-time students under 26 (ID required on collection of tickets. Pre-Theatre  dining is available from 6pm at Bayly's Restaurant at $53pp for 3 courses and $46pp for 2 courses (excluding alcohol).

This is a passionate and moving story of the remarkable journey through war and other vicissitudes of three generations of women: Karin Schaupp, her mother, and her grandmother, Lotte . Australian classical guitarist Karin Schaupp (pictured), described as the 'poet of the guitar’ and an outstanding young classical guitarist, creates an evocative soundscape for Lotte's Gift. "Her skills were dazzling": THE AUSTRALIAN. For more, see http://www.ensemble.com.au/play_2.asp 

A tribute to Harold Pinter

We have all lost a unique playwright today. One of those who will never be replaced. His work and his personality made him one of the most important voices in the literary world during the last part of the 20th century, and his uncorruptible and courageous attitude in the field of art as well as the political world unites all of us who believe in true humanitarian values.
His close relationship with PEN made him a pillar and an unreplacable supporter in our struggle for freedom of expression and literary values.
   Harold Pinter will be mourned by PEN writers from all corners of our globe.
Eugene Schoulgin, International Secretary,International PEN 24 December 2008 
   PEN members who would like to add their memories and tributes to this page can do so by emailing emily.bromfield@internationalpen.org.uk

Being Harold Pinter is presented by Company B and the Sydney Festival . Extracts from Pinter’s plays and his Nobel Prize speech transform into a harrowing account of artistic and political repression in Europe’s last dictatorship. Funny and menacing, this is a powerful instance of life imitating art. Performed by the Belarus Free Theatre, it is at  It the Belvoir St Theatre from 7-11 January,  and for a second season from 28 January to 1 February. For more information: http://www.belvoir.com.au/pinter

38 Writers and Journalists Killed in Last 12 Months

Thirty-eight writers and journalists have been killed since 15 November 2005 with the most dangerous countries being Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as Russia. PEN will continue to fight against the impunity enjoyed by so many of those who murder journalists in an attempt to silence criticism. Read International PEN's List of Killings from November 2005 to November 2006  More ...

PEN Helps Iraqi Writers, Translators to Safety

Three Iraqi writers and English translators, two of whom worked for the U.S. military, were hunted by death squads because of their work and only escaped Iraq with assistance from PEN and the Norwegian government. Larry Siems, director of American PEN's Freedom to Write Program, interviewed them in Norway, where they have political asylum. Read the interviews here at American PEN’s website http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/1382

Call for Repeal of Turkish Laws

Sydney PEN joins International PEN, the European Commission, the International Publishers Association and Article 19 in calling on the Turkish authorities to repeal the notorious Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code under which numerous writers, journalists and publishers have been prosecuted since June 2005 – and also all other legislation under which writers, publishers and journalists continue to be prosecuted for what they write and publish.
See International PEN’s current list of writers, publishers and journalists on trial in Turkey - Click here ...

Vietnam: Serious Concern About Writers

Sydney PEN is seriously concerned for the safety of writer and journalist Tran Khai Thanh who has been subject to serious harassment and sustained interrogations about her Internet writings since 2 September 2006. Her case appears to be part of a pattern of organised and widespread police harassment of dissident writers and human rights activists in Vietnam since August 2006, apparently in the lead up to the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC) summit held in Hanoi from 12-19 November. Sydney PEN is alarmed about the apparent crackdown on dissident writers and human rights activists in Vietnam in recent weeks, and reminds the Vietnamese government of its commitment to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory. Read more ...

David Malouf AO, PEN Customs House Reading 6 February

12.45-1.15pm, Tuesday 6 February 2007
Customs House Library, Barnet Long Room
Level 1, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Sydney PEN Writers Panel member DAVID MALOUF is the author of Dream Stuff (‘These stories are pearls,’ - Spectator) and of acclaimed novels including The Great World ,winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize,  and Remembering Babylon, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. David will read from his latest book , Every Move You Make ,  a collection of tender, unsettlingly intimate short stories of lives played out against the backdrop of the vast Australian continent.

Sydney PEN lunchtime readings for 2007 will occur on the first Tuesday of the month commencing February at Customs House Library throughout 2007. PEN writers for 2007 include James Bradley (6 March), Anne Summers (3 April) and Nicholas Jose (1 May).

Seasons Greetings!

Sydney PEN has had a year of growth with increased involvement, events and representation. It has been exhausting but productive and we thank you for your support throughout the year. We wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season.

The New Year also heralds the commencement of our new membership year and we encourage you to support PEN if you have not done so already. In today’s world it is more important than ever for PEN to continue its work. Click here to join or renew your membership with Sydney PEN. In addition, or alternatively, you may wish to give a tax deductible donation to Sydney PEN and may do so by using the membership form.

VIEW 2007 UPCOMING EVENTS.....

Sydney PEN Writers Top 2006 Australian Fiction Bestseller List

Sydney PEN member Kathy Lette has topped Bookscan's 2006 Australian fiction bestseller list with her book, How to Kill Your Husband (And Other Handy Household Hints).

Sydney PEN writers panel members Kate Grenville and Geraldine Brooks came second and third respectively with The Secret River and March.  The 2006 bestseller list was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 December 2006.  Sydney PEN writers panel member Tim Flannery's book The Weather Makers was one of the ten best selling Australian non-fiction books in 2006.  Sydney PEN congratulates Kathy, Kate, Geraldine and Tim and thanks them for their continued support.

Sydney PEN Pays Tribute to Anna Politkovskaya

At the Sydney PEN commemoration of the 2006 Day of the Imprisoned Writer held on November 12, we paid tribute to the slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya and organised a discussion panel on the topic ‘Silence Please: Censorship in Australia’. We also presented Rosie Scott with the inaugural Sydney PEN Award. Our tribute to Anna Politkovskaya begins:

Anna Politkovskaya was brave, courageous and fearless. She was intense and determined. Underlying that, she was always compassionate and humble.

She died uncompromised and uncompromising.

She said the unsayable. She believed that misery and suffering is caused by individuals, and she identified them. She named names. 

Read the rest of the tribute.

Leading Chinese Dissident Speaks in Sydney

On Sunday, December 3, Sydney PEN, the Federation for a Democratic China and the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts hosted  a talk by Xu Wenli, the exiled writer, editor and high-profile democracy activist who spent a total of 16 years in prison for his activities as a dissident before finally being released into exile in 2002. Stay tuned to read the text of his speech, plus a short Question and Answer with Sydney PEN. 

Books of Hate Case Heard 28 November 2006 - Judgment reserved

The challenge by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties to the decision of the Classification Review Board banning the two so-called "Books of Hate", Defence of the Muslim Lands and Join the Caravan, was heard by Justice Richard Edmonds in the Federal Court on 28 November 2006. The judge reserved his decision - watch this site for a report when the decision is handed down!

Defence of the Muslim Lands was written in 1984 (revised in 2002) and relates primarily to the jihad in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion. Join the Caravan was written in 1987 at the peak of the Jihad in Afghanistan. Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Frank Moorhouse has read the books and says, "Both books read to me as theological guidance about when the joining of armed jihad is permissible under Islamic law. They read more like, say, a Catholic theological text on what constitutes a just war". (See pages 10-11 in the most recently Sydney PEN Quarterly.) The Federal Court case will be reported on our website and on our blog. For further information, the background to the case, and the NSW CCL's application see the Books of Hate section under Censorship on this website.

Painter and Writer Charged with Subversion

- PEN deeply concerend about recent arrests -

Sydney PEN is deeply concerned about the detention of painter, dissident writer and member of Independent Chinese PEN Yan Zhengxue, who was arrested on 18 October 2006 and was officially charged on 1 November 2006 with subversion, apparently in connection with his writings and dissident activities. PEN continues to be alarmed about an apparent crackdown on dissident writers in China. Recent arrests include lawyer Gao Zhisheng, prominent writer Zhang Jianhong (aka Li Hong), well known dissident writer and activist Yang Maodong (aka Guo Feixiong), and dissident writer Chen Shuqing. Express your concern by writing a letter. See Action Alerts to your right.

Sydney PEN Writers Panel Member Helen Garner Wins $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature

Congratulations to our Writers Panel Member Helen Garner who has won Australia's richest literary award, the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature! The prize was awarded to Helen in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life. Helen will receive $30,000 in cash, provided by the City of Melbourne to undertake an international travel scholarship, and $30,000 in cash provided by Tattersall’s and the Melbourne Prize Trust. An Italian language and cultural course is also offered by the Italian Institute of Culture.> More

Yang Xiaoqing Released

Sydney PEN is pleased to learn that the prison sentence of journalist Yang Xiaoqing was quashed at his appeal on Ocober 17. We remain concerned, however, that the conviction on extortion charges remains on his record. Sydney PEN joined PEN centres around the world expressing our deep concern about the charges against Mr Yang. We wrote to the Chinese authorities after his arrest and again after his sentencing to one year in prison. We urged a review of the case, as reports revealed there was no evidence presented in trial to back up the charge. Yang was released on September 6, pending his appeal, and on October 17, the appeal court ruled that he would be subjected to no criminal sentence though would remain guilty of the charge of extortion.

November Quarterly

Click here to access our November Quarterly magazine containing articles by Frank Moorhouse, Richard Ackland and others and an exclusive Sydney PEN interview with John Ralston Saul!  Financial members of Sydney PEN will be mailed a copy of the magazine shortly.

Sydney PEN Award 2006 to Rosie Scott

Sydney PEN is delighted to announce that the inaugural Sydney PEN Award was made to writer Rosie Scott at our Day of the Imprisoned Writer event at Gleebooks on 12 November 2006. The Sydney PEN Award was instituted in 2006 to acknowledge outstanding work by a Sydney PEN member in support of PEN’s aims. The Award has been made possible by the generosity of Sydney PEN member Jane Morgan and the support of Mr Charles Wolf of The Pen Shop, Sydney.

Read Sydney PEN's tribute to Rosie Scott.

Renowned Writers to Join PEN Conference in Hong Kong

Writers at International PEN's Asia and Pacific Regional Conference in Hong Kong, 2-5 February 2007, will include novelists, poets, journalists and translators from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and other countries in the region, as well as writers from Europe and North America. Two of the most highly renowned poets in the region – Taiwan’s Yu Kwang-chung and Korea’s Ko Un – will attend, along with one of China's most renowned playwrights Sha Yexin and the overseas Chinese writers, novelist Ma Jian and poet Yang Lian.

Call for Nominations for NSW Premier's Translation Prize and PEN Medallion

The biennial NSW Premier's Translation Prize ($15,000) with accompanying PEN Medallion will be awarded again in 2007. The prize was proposed by Sydney PEN and is offered by the New South Wales Government through Arts NSW and the Community Relations Commission for a Multicultural NSW. The prize is for a body of work, rather than any one translation and recognises the vital role literary translators play in enabling writers and readers to communicate across cultures. It is offered only to Australian translators who translate works into English from other languages. Past winners include Mabel Lee (2001), Julie Rose (2003) and Chris Andrews (2005).

The closing date for nominations for the 2007 Translation Prize is Friday 1 December 2006. Nomination forms and guidelines can be downloaded from www.arts.nsw.gov.au.

> More

PEN Concerned for Politkovskaya Investigation

12 October 2006: Following President Putin's comments suggesting that Anna Politkovskaya's work as a journalist was "insignificant", International PEN wrote to the president, assuring him that PEN will continue to monitor the progress of investigations into her murder. "We will inform international bodies and our own governments of the status of these investigations, urging them to make respect for freedom of opinion and expression a baseline requirement in all future negotiations with the Russian Federation." Read the letter.

Pamuk's Win Highlights Turkey's Laws

PEN congratulates the winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Literature, Orhan Pamuk. The Nobel committee said Pamuk, "in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures".

PEN is delighted that the work of this important author is being celebrated in this way. Orhan Pamuk is a writer of extraordinary merit and he is also a great advocate for freedom of expression. In addition to recognising his work, the prize should serve to remind the world of the threat of prosecution faced by many Turkish writers under Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code and other laws. Pamuk was himself on trial last year under Article 301 for insulting "Turkishness".

Hear Orhan Pamuk present the PEN Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, hosted by American PEN:  Orhan Pamuk (mp3 file). Or, read the lecture in the New York Review of Books.

"The price doesn't matter..."

When asked at the Sydney Writers Festival in May this year about the price she paid for her reporting, Anna Politkovskaya said, “The price doesn’t matter. It does not matter compared to the cause you are trying to serve…" Go to the Sydney PEN Blog to link to a webcast of Anna’s talk at the Festival.

Crackdown in China Worsens

Sydney PEN is deeply concerned about the crackdown on dissident writers in China, which appears only to be getting worse. In the last month alone, three writers have been arrested, one a member of Independent Chinese PEN. In addition, the dissident writer Guo Qizhen (pictured), whose arrest in May we protested, has been sentenced to four years in prison and an additional three years deprivation of political rights.
> More

SYDNEY PEN CALLS FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO IMPLEMENT ALRC RECOMMENDATIONS ON SEDITION LAWS

JM Coetzee, Tom Keneally AO, David Williamson AO, Frank Moorhouse AM, John Tranter, Geraldine Brooks, Robert Drewe, Nicholas Jose, Katherine Thomson and other members of Sydney PEN called in a press release issued 11 October 2006  for the Federal Government to implement the changes recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission to the Anti-Terror legislation passed in late 2005. More...

Anna Politkovskaya shot dead in Moscow

PEN is appalled by the news of the murder of the renowned Russian journalist and author, Anna Politkovskaya, who was found shot dead in an elevator in her apartment building in Moscow on 7 October 2006. A special tribute will be paid to Anna at Sydney PEN's Day of the Imprisoned Writer on 12 November 2006, 4.30pm for 5pm at Gleebooks.

A journalist who covered the war in Chechnya, Anna had been receiving threats since 1999 after she wrote articles claiming that the Russian armed forces had committed human rights abuses in Chechnya. Despite these threats she continued to write and in 2003 published A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya. She is also a co-contributor to A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya , published in 2003. Her most recent book, Putin's War: Life in A Failing Democracy is to be published in paperback in December this year. Anna was a guest of the Sydney Writers Festival in May this year and featured on the Sydney PEN panel, State of the Word", with Prof George Williams, Hari Kunzru, Camilla Gibb, Hendrik Hertzberg and chaired by Sydney PEN's immediate past President Katherine Thomson.
> More

International PEN criticizes China at the UN Human Rights Council

Of special concern to PEN today is that one member state [of the United Nations Human Rights Council], China, has in the three months since the first meeting was held in June, sentenced two more people to prison terms in direct violation of Article 19… Click on this archived webcast to see and hear International PEN representative Fawzia Assaad submit PEN's statement on China to the second session of the United Nations Human Rights Council at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, 22 September 2006. For more webcasts of submissions and responses at the Council, see their website.

Pham Hong Son Reunited with Family

Sydney PEN Honorary Member Pham Hông Son is reunited with his wife Ms Vu Thuy Hà and their two children. Dr Pham was released early from prison under a Presidential Amnesty to mark Vietnam's National Day on 2 September. Dr Pham’s release is conditional, as he is still required to serve three years' administrative detention (house arrest). Sydney PEN regards Dr Pham's conviction and detention as a violation of his right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which was ratified by Vietnam. We will continue to call for the complete quashing of his conviction and sentence. Pham Hông Son is also an honorary member of Canadian PEN and French PEN. (Photo courtesy of Swiss Romand PEN.)
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PEN Customs House Reading: Katherine Thomson 7 December

12.45-1.15pm, Thursday 7 December
Customs House Library, Barnet Long Room
Level 1, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay
FREE Admission

Former Sydney PEN President Katherine Thomson is an acclaimed playwright and screenwriter. Her recent work includes the film “Unfolding Florence, the Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst” and “Answered By Fire”, a mini-series about East Timor, both of which won AWGIE awards in 2006 with “Unfolding Florence” also awarded the 2006 QLD Premier’s Literary Award. For her play “Harbour” she received the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Award and was named a finalist for the internationally prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

Sydney PEN lunchtime readings for 2007 will occur on the first Tuesday of the month commencing February at Customs House Library throughout 2007. PEN writers for 2007 include David Malouf (6 February) James Bradley (6 March), Anne Summers (3 April) and Nicholas Jose (1 May).

Sydney PEN @ Phoenix Lounge

"From Slam to Beijing and Back Again"
Tuesday 5 December, 5.30 for 6.00
Phoenix Lounge and Sky Phoenix restaurant
Level 3, 77 Castlereagh St, Sydney

Come join us at the Phoenix Lounge and sample the words of Chinese underground poet Bei Ling and Australia's leading slam poets Miles Merrill (pictured) and citizen tom. Free entry. Drinks at the bar from 5.30 pm at good prices, nibbles provided. Performances from 6 pm to 7 pm. Read on for details and directions.

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UPDATE: Elif Shafak Acquitted

Sydney PEN is delighted that author Elif Shafak was acquitted of charges of insult at a hearing on 21 September in Istanbul. Shafak was charged with insult to Turkishness under article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code for comments made by fictitious characters in her best selling novel Baba ve Pic (Father and Bastard).

Because of the clear violation of Shafak's right to freedom of expression, International sent observers to the trial, and PEN centres are calling on Turkish authorities to review all legislation that permits prosecution of writers and journalists in denial of their right to freedom of expression and end these trials once and for all.

In an exclusive interview for PEN, recorded on 19 September 2006 in an Istanbul hospital room where she was recovering after the birth of her daughter on 16 September, Shafak described how Article 301 and other penal code provisions are “used as a weapon to silence people—journalists, intellectuals, publishers, and editors” by a reactionary faction in Turkey whose goal is to “curb the domain of art and literature.”

Sydney PEN Blog Launched

Sydney PEN now has its own blog! The blog has been started in conjunction with one of our major sponsors, the UTS Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Technology, Sydney. The blog is being run by two UTS journalism students, Katja Gaskell and Bonny Symons-Brown. We look forward to you posting your comments at www.sydneypen.blogspot.com

Writer Charged with Insulting Ataturk

Istanbul journalist and writer Ipek Calislar has been charged for insulting Ataturk in her latest book, Latife Hanim (Mrs Latife). She has been prosecuted under a 1951 law passed to protect Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Gallipoli veteran and the founder of the Turkish Republic. Latife Hanim is a biography of Ataturk’s wife.

The first hearing is scheduled for 5 October 2006. The charge is based on Calislar’s inclusion in her book of a well known story that Latife had organised Ataturk's escape from assassins by dressing him in a chador, while she fooled the assassins by dressing in men's clothing and impersonating her husband.

Zhao Yan Sentenced for Fraud

Sydney PEN welcomes the announcement on 25 August 2006 that the charge of revealing state secrets has been dropped against New York Times  journalist Zhao Yan, but is seriously concerned at his sentencing to three years in jail for fraud.

> More

12 November: PEN Day of the Imprisoned Writer

+Panel Discussion: Silence Please: Censorship in Australia
+Tribute to Anna Politkovskaya
+Sydney PEN Award to Rosie Scott

Hosted by Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
4.30 for 5.00 to 6.30pm, Sunday, 12th November
Bookings 9660 2333

Our Day of the Imprisoned Writer this year features a tribute to slain Russian journalist ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA and a distinguished panel discussion on the topic 'Silence Please: Censorship in Australia'. The inaugural Sydney PEN Award will also be awarded to writer and former Sydney PEN committee member, ROSIE SCOTT. Panelists for 'Silence Please: Censorship in Australia' include ANNE DEVESON, MICHAEL HARVEY, NICOLE MOORE and GEORGE WILLIAMS. Chaired by DENISE LEITH. Entry is $10 or $5 concession (students/unwaged) with proceeds to further PEN's work. 

PEN Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture Orhan Pamuk

"Living as I do in a world where, in a very short time, someone who has been a victim of tyranny and oppression can suddenly become one of the oppressors, I know also that holding strong beliefs about the nature of things and people is itself a difficult enterprise." 

Hear Orhan Pamuk present the PEN Arthur Miller Freedom to Write Lecture, hosted by American PEN:  Orhan Pamuk (mp3 file). Or, read the lecture in the New York Review of Books.

Books of Hate - CCL Legal Action for Review of Censorship Decision

On 7 August 2006, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties commenced legal action in the Federal Court for judicial review of the Classification Review Board's decisions to ban two Islamic books, Defence of the Muslim Lands and Join the Caravan.  The matter will be before the Court for directions on 29 August 2006.  The two books are amongst a group of eight so-called 'Books of Hate'  referred to the Classification Review Board by Attorney-General Ruddock after the body which classifies books, the Classification Board, had determined that each of the eight books should be classified as unrestricted. The eight books had also been cleared by the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Read the NSW Council of Civil Liberties' Application to the Federal Court for judicial review.

On 10 July 2006, the Classification Review Board determined that Defence of the Muslim Lands and Join the Caravan be banned but that the other six books should be classified as unrestricted.  Attorney-General Ruddock, however, has proposed that censorship laws be strengthened in order to ensure that such books are banned. 

Sydney PEN at Griffin Theatre 21 November

Book for the PEN members' night at Griffin Theatre on Tuesday 21 November 2006 to see prize-winning playwright Tommy Murphy's Holding the Man at a special PEN ticket price. The play will be introduced at 7.45 pm by PEN member Tommy Murphy and director David Berthold. Holding the Man is adapted from Timothy Conigrave’s classic memoir, one of the most loved books in Australia and winner of the United Nations Human Rights Award for Non Fiction in 1995.

Support PEN and Australian playwrights and book soon for this night.

Read the Review by Diana Simmonds at Stagenoise.

Tibetan author sentenced to 10 years in prison

Dolma Kyab (aka Lobsang Kelsang Gyatso), a 29-year-old writer and teacher in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, was sentenced in 2005 to ten years in prison on charges of "endangering state security". PEN believes this is in relation to his critial writings, including the manuscript entitled The Himalayas in Turmoil (Saodong de Ximalayashan), which explores democracy, the sovereignty of Tibet, Tibet under communism, colonialism, and religion. Join our campaign for his release. (See Action Alerts to your right).

Margaret Jones, 1923-2006

Sydney PEN is saddened to learn of the death of Margaret Jones, journalist, author and former Sydney PEN Vice President and Chair of our Writers in Prison Committee. 

Read Sydney PEN's Latest Quarterly

Click here to read  Sydney PEN June 2006 Quarterly online.  The Sydney PEN June 2006 Quarterly is guest edited by Diana Simmonds, author, journalist and arts critic and commentator for the Sunday Telegraph. In Diana's own words she is an "author, journalist and lifetime ratbag with no hope or intention of achieving respectability. Raised in Kenya and a writer from the age of eight; schooled on the job in London; an Australian citizen since escaping Thatcherism; she now realises that jumping out of the frying pan into ten years of fire is no escape. Like most journalists of un certain age, she's worked for all major print media proprietors. Having experienced revolutions, coups, (minor) imprisonment and total terror from age 7, she is deeply sympathetic to the plight of writers and journalists - and all peoples - who live under constant threat of incarceration and death.

Literary Translation in Australia Today

Sydney PEN and Melbourne PEN have reported to International PEN on the state of literary translation in
Australia today. The information in this report will form the Australian section of an International PEN report, Translation and Globalization, edited by Esther Allen to be published in October 2006, when it will be presented to the United Nations. Read the Australian Report.

Sydney PEN Says Release Aung San Suu Kyi

Sydney PEN joins PEN Canada and English PEN in a letter writing campaign calling for the release of writer and Myanmar opposition leader,  Aung San Suu Kyi. On 19 June 2006, Ms Aung San spent her 61st birthday under house arrest. She has spent more than 10 of the last 17 years in detention, and the military junta recently extended her house arrest for another year. Join the letter writing campaign on behalf of Ms Aung San...

AWGIE Award Winners

A TRIPLE TREAT FOR SYDNEY PEN MEMBER AND FORMER PRESIDENT KATHERINE THOMSON AT THE 39TH AWGIE AWARDS

Sydney writer Katherine Thomson dominated the 39th annual AWGIE Awards taking home three prizes, including the Major Award for co-writing Answered by Fire. Patricia Cornelius and Greg Haddrick also won two awards each. But the night belonged to Katherine Thomson who received AWGIE Awards for Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst in the Public Broadcast Documentary category and Answered by Fire, co-written by Barbara Samuels, for Original TV Mini-Series, which also won the Major Award. Click here for the full Media Release and Award Winners.

Sydney PEN Supports ALRC on Sedition

Sydney PEN welcomes the Australian Law Reform Commission's proposals on changes to the sedition laws.  Read Sydney PEN's latest submission to the ALRC dated 3 July 2006. For background on the sedition laws and PEN's position see Sedition under the Censorship section of this website.

Turkish Writer Perihan Magden Acquitted

Writer Perihan Magden was acquitted by a court in Istanbul on 27 July 2006. She had been charged under Article 218 of the Turkish Penal Code for having "turned people against military service". The charges related to an article entitled "Conscientious Objection is a Human Right", published in December 2005. 

Turkish Writer Faces Trial

Best selling Turkish novelist Elif Shafak faces trial on 21 September 2006 in Istanbul on charges of "insulting Turkishness" under the infamous Article 301 of the Turkish Criminal Code. What is different about the charges to previous charges made against Turkish writers such as Orhan Pamuk is that they are based on statements made by characters in Elif Shafak's novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, and not on statements she herself has made.> More

Malaysia Bans More Books

Since mid-June, Malaysian authorities have banned 18 books on Islam and religion on the grounds that they could “disrupt peace and harmony”, reports the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA).> More

Jailed Journalist Sends a Message

Yang Xiaoqing, journalist with the China Industrial Economy News, has been sentenced to one year in prison on extortion charges. His arrest is thought to be linked to two articles written in May 2005 alleging corruption in the sale of a state-owned company by county officials. The photo is of a handcuffed Yang. On his hand is the Chinese character "yuan", meaning "injustice". See Action Alerts to your right.

Media Under Fire From Israeli Military

As hostilities between Hezbollah militants and Israeli armed forces continue, journalists and media outlets reporting on the conflict are coming under fire from the Israeli military. A number of journalists have been killed and injured and it has been reported that the Israeli military have deliberately targeted media facilities in possible violation of the Geneva Conventions. 

Australian Book Industry Awards 2006

Congratulations to Sydney PEN members following the announcements on Wednesday 26 July! 

Kate Grenville, The Secret River - winner of Australian Book of the Year and the Australian Literary Fiction Book of the YearTim Flannery, The Weather Makers -  winner of Australian General Non-Fiction Book of the Year

Human Rights and Freedom Literacy Award

Sydney PEN, winners of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Community Award (2004), along with Amnesty International and the NSW Writers' Centre,  co-hosted a new Human Rights and Freedom Literacy Award presented on 22 June 2006. Sydney PEN congratulates the winners in the three categories, Meg McNena for the poem Spoil , Charlotte Stansfield for Non Fiction with The Words To Say It and Rohan Chandran for fiction with The Queue. We also congratulate all entrants for the high callibre of work presented. 

Sydney PEN Member Wins Top Award

Sydney PEN congratulates Roger McDonald on winning this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award for his novel The Ballad of Desmond Kale. A member of Sydney PEN, McDonald is the author of twenty books, including 1915, Slipstream, Rough Wallaby and Mr Darwin's Shooter. He has been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin five times.

Sydney PEN Writers Panel Member One of 100 Most Influential Australians of All Time

Sydney PEN congratulates our Writers Advisory Panel member David Williamson on being named as one of the 100 most influential Australians of all time by the Bulletin.

Kate Grenville shortlisted for the Booker Prize

Congratulations to Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Kate Grenville whose book The Secret River has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, which will be awarded on 10 October.

Listen to 'The Writer in a Time of Terror'

On the morning of his PEN address at the Sydney Mechanics School of Arts, Frank Moorhouse spoke to ABC Radio National's Ramona Koval on the Book Show about his latest work, "The Writer in a Time of Terror", published in the latest issue the Griffith Review. Listen to the Book Show. Subscribe to the Griffith Review.

Release of Mohammed Benchicon

Mohammed Benchicon Released
Sydney and International PEN welcomes the release from prison on 14 June 2006 of Algerian journalist Mohammed Benchicou.

ARTS COALITION OBJECTS TO SEDITION PROVISIONS

At an extraordinary general meeting held in Sydney on October 31, Sydney PEN joined writers, artists, filmmakers, publishers, composers and their organisations in unanimous opposition to the sedition provisions in the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005.> More

Jail threat for denigrating Turkey

Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, will face an Istanbul court in December for his comments reported by a Swiss newspaper. He stands to be imprisoned for three years if found guilty.> More

Chinese Poet Sentenced and Prominent Journalist Detained

Sydney PEN is alarmed at the sentencing of journalist, poet and Independent Chinese PEN member, Shi Tao, to ten years' imprisonment for 'revealing state secrets' and calls for his immediate release.

To see a photograph of Shi Tao and read his poem written on last year's anniversary of the June 4 1989 Tiananmen protests and Beijing massacre, click here.

Sydney PEN also strongly protests the recent detention of Ching Cheong, the Hong Kong based correspondent for The Straits Times Newspaper, in late April and calls for his immediate release. To read more about Ching Cheong, click here.

Another Country . Publication date 1st May

Due to popular demand the third revised and enlarged edition of Another Country can now be ordered. This powerful anthology with its extraordinarily moving and compelling evocation of refugee experience has already made an important contribution to the debate both in Australia and internationally and become part of its history. > More

Playwright and Screen Executive to lead PEN

The award winning playwright and screenwriter, Katherine Thomson is to be the new Sydney PEN President for 2005. And to add to the changes, PEN has appointed its first ever Executive Director, the former Managing Director and CEO of Film Australia, Sharon Connolly.> More

Australian PEN Keneally Award to Joesoef Isak

The Indonesian publisher and translator Joesoef Isak is the inaugural recipient of the Australian PEN Keneally Award.

The Award is given by the Australian PEN Centres in recognition of an achievement in promoting freedom of expression, international understanding and access to literature as expressed in the charter of International PEN. The Award is named in honour of Thomas Keneally, writer, citizen and PEN member, for his lifetime's commitment to the values of PEN.> More

Sydney PEN's Refugee Anthology, Now Available

Sydney PEN's anthology of refugee writing, Another Country, was launched by Australian actor Claudia Karvan on May 16 at Gleebooks. Edited by Sydney writers Rosie Scott and Tom Keneally from the Sydney PEN Writers in Detention committee, Another Country includes writing by 30 detainees, refugees and former asylum seekers.

• For more information, click Writers in Detention.
• Download the Another Country Order Form

Nicaragua: Journalist's murderer sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment

Sydney PEN welcomes the 28 January 2005 sentencing of Eugenio Hernndez for the killing of journalist Mara Jos Bravo. The former mayor of El Ayote was handed a 25-year prison term for premeditated murder.

Bravo (26), the Chontales correspondent for the newspapers La Prensa and Diario Hoy, was covering a recount of votes on 9 November 2004 when she was shot at close range. She died before reaching hospital. Police arrested Hernndez Gonzlez close to the scene of the crime as he tried to make his escape.

As part of PEN's ongoing campaign to bring to an end the killing of writers with impunity, Sydney PEN joined other centers around the world in campaigning for the full investigation and prosecution of Bravo's murderer.

Thanks to all our members who wrote letters to the Nicaraguan authorities.

We commend the Nicaraguan authorities on the timely and efficient way justice has been administered in this case. International PEN believes that the manner in which the Nicaraguan authorities have dealt with this murder should serve as a model for all countries on the continent where the killings of writers and journalists are carried out with impunity.

Chip Rolley
Chair, Sydney PEN Writers in Prison Committee

Burma/Myanmar: Sydney PEN Honorary Member Aung Myint Released

Sydney PEN is thrilled to learn that our honorary member in Burma/Myanmar, Aung Myint, has been freed. He was among the fifty political prisoners granted freedom on 3 January 2005.

Aung Myint is a poet, journalist and was head of the information department of the National League for Democracy (NLD) at the time of his arrest.> More

ASYLUM SEEKER IN IMMINENT DANGER

Ardeshir Gholipour is an Iranian asylum seeker who has been in Australian immigration detention since March, 2000, having fled Iran earlier that year. Between 1985 and 2000, Ardeshir exhibited great courage as an outspoken supporter of democratic reform in Iran. International PEN, an organization representing writers in 99 countries, has confirmed that Ardeshir was indeed an active member of the Iran freedom movement, and that he 'has a real reason to fear persecution for his legitimate and peaceful activism should he be returned to Iran.' > More

Sydney PEN Centre Report 2004

2004 has been a significant year for Sydney PEN Centre with an expanded program of events and publications, active campaigning for Writers in Prison abroad and Writers in Detention in Australia, participation in national and international meetings, a growing membership and an increased public profile. The year has also seen close working relationships develop between Sydney PEN and many other parts of the International PEN network, at home and overseas. That is very important to us. We especially appreciate the close and continuing support we receive from International PEN's head offices.

PEN Australia is the proud recipient of Australia's 2004 Human Rights Award for a Community Organisation.> More

PEN Australia has won a prestigious Human Rights Award for the first time.

The honour was for its work on asylum seeker issues in Australia.

Named by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) as a 'Local Champion' , the Sydney PEN Centre  President, Nicholas Jose accepted the glittering award at a presentation and awards luncheon in Sydney on Friday 10 December.

The 2004 HREOC Award for Community Organisation was won by PEN from a strong field of entries, including two refugee advocacy and support groups.

Full Story

Ivory Coast Amadou Dagnogo located

Sydney PEN is extremely pleased to learn of the re-appearance of Amadou Dagnogo, the Bouak correspondent for the daily newspaper L'Inter. According to reports received by International PEN, Amadou Dagnogo, who disappeared on 28 August 2004 from the town of Bouake, was helped by French peacekeepers to fly to Abidjan on 14 October 2004. > More

Ruslan Sharipov granted asylum

Sydney PEN is pleased to learn that Uzbek journalist and human rights activist Ruslan Sharipov has had his asylum request approved by the US government. Sharipov had been the subject of several appeals written by the Sydney PEN Writers in Prison Committee and many Sydney PEN members since he was first sentenced in August 2003. After being transferred from prison to house arrest, Sharipov fled Uzbekistan for Moscow in June 2004, fearing for his safety. He is currently settled in Sacramento, California. > More

Ali Reza-Jabari released

Sydney PEN welcomes the release of journalist, writer and translator Ali-Reza Jabari, who was freed on 14 October 2004, 18 months before the expiry of his sentence. It is thought that international pressure, in particular a campaign led by Chilean author Isabel Allende (whose work Ali-Reza Jabari translated into Farsi), and co-ordinated by English PEN, contributed to his early release. > More

Twenty Countries Come Under Scrutiny at International PEN's Congress in Norway

At PEN's annual congress, held between 6th-12th September 2004, delegates from over fifty countries took the opportunity to protest the attacks against their fellow writers in twenty countries.  Click here for more.

International PEN Condemns the Imprisonment of Writers in Australia

For the second year running, International PEN has condemned Australia's mandatory detention policy, where writers who flee from persecution find themselves incarcerated in refugee detention camps with little access to the outside world. Even when freed, they find themselves faced with huge bills for the costs of their enforced stay.  Read the International PEN resolution here.

'Gardener of Villawood' Released

After five years incarcerated at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, Iraqi refugee Hassan Sabbagh has been released. An accountant by trade, Hassan wrote poetry and prose while in detention and created a garden in front of the housing block, using a spoon as a hoe and trowel. Sydney PEN's anthology of refugee writing will include work by Hassan. To find out more click here.

Cambodian Journalist Finds Freedom in France

Thrown in Villawood Detention Centre after fleeing his country in fear for his life, Cambodian journalist Lam Khi Try and his family have been given refuge in France. To learn more about Lam, click here. Lam's incarceration was one of many cases that prompted International PEN to pass a resolution condemning Australia's mandatory detention policy.

International PEN 'hereby condemns the actions of the Australian government in violating the freedom of expression of the detainees (including writers), as well as journalists who are prevented from freely and fully reporting on their plight...' To read International PEN's resolution on Australia in full, click here.

Internet Writers, Journalists in War Zones, Writers in Exile top concerns at 71st World Congress of International PEN

At the close of its 71st World Congress on 20 June, International PEN, the world association of writers, called for global compliance with international agreements guaranteeing freedom of expression over the internet; condemned attacks against journalists in conflict zones including Iraq, where 62 media workers have been killed since March 2003; and issued an urgent letter to Iranian authorities urging the immediate release of writer and lawyer Nasser Zarafshan, who is reported to be near death as the result of a hunger strike in prison. > More

Sydney PEN Member Helen Garner Wins Prize for Literature

Congratulations to our Writers Panel Member Helen Garner who has won Australia's richest literary award, the $60,000 Melbourne Prize for Literature! The prize was awarded to Helen in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Australian literature and to cultural and intellectual life. Helen will receive $30,000 in cash, provided by the City of Melbourne to undertake an international travel scholarship, and $30,000 in cash provided by Tattersall’s and the Melbourne Prize Trust. An Italian language and cultural course is also offered by the Italian Institute of Culture.
The Melbourne Prize Trust is an initiative of the Committee for Melbourne whose aim is to enhance Melbourne’s liveability. The Trust was formed to coordinate an annual prize to to assist artists to develop and reach their full potential, recognise and reward talent, drive excellence and foster creative and cultural development. We hope other capital cities will follow this great example!!!

Sydney Writers Festival

The tenth Sydney Writers Festival, from Monday 28 May to Sunday 3 June, is a time when writers and readers of all ages will come together to celebrate the written word and the power of storytelling. Once again, Sydney PEN is hosting a session at the Festival titled, '   The Freedom to Write' on Sunday, June 3 2007, 11:30 -13:00   SDC 4.  The session will include    Bei Ling, Rawi Hage, Ayu Utami and Adib Khan with panelist discussing freedom of expression with Angela Bowne, President of Sydney PEN. 

Other Sydney PEN members participating in the festival include David Malouf, Kate Grenville, Frank Moorhouse, Nick Jose, Kathy Bail, Alison Broinowski. Hugo Bowne-Anderson, Robert Drewe, Libby Gleeson and Anita Heiss.  

Sydney Writers Festival home page:http://www.swf.org.au/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

VALE MONA BRAND Playwright, poet and Life Member of Sydney PEN, Mona Brand has died at 91.

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Moorhouse wins Walkley Award

Congratulations to Sydney PEN Writers Panel member Frank Moorhouse on being among the winners for the 52nd Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism. Frank was presented the Social Equity Journalism award for his essay The writer in a time of terror (Griffith REVIEW Ed 14: The Trouble with Paradise).

Sydney PEN, one of 145 PEN centres in 104 countries, won the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Community Award in 2004 for its work with writers in detention. Sydney PEN conducts campaigns and holds events supporting literature and defending freedom of expression.