In its new report, “Writers Under Siege: Defying Silence – PEN International Case List 2026”, PEN International provides an annual record of attacks, imprisonment, and persecution of those who use the written word to express themselves. It also provides an overview and an indication of global trends, and a guide to the type of challenges writers face, in which countries, and the kind of actions that other writers worldwide are taking in support of their colleagues.
PEN International Case List 2026 recorded 140 attacks on writers in 2025. Most of the attacks took the form of detention, harassment, and judicial harassment, as the graphic below indicates. According to PEN, these categories include forms of attacks such as (i) a prison sentence after conviction in relation to writing or freedom of expression; (ii) intimidation, travel bans, confiscation of property, dismissal from employment; (iii) absentia proceedings against writers not in the country, and ban of books from sale or access as a result of a court order.
PEN International, 2026
Ma Thida, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, stated: “These are not incidental acts of censorship. They are calculated efforts to narrow the breadth of what can be thought, imagined, remembered and expressed. When literary heritage and expression are attacked, our capacity to develop the narratives and ideas necessary to understand and address the world’s seemingly intractable challenges is diminished, resulting in a cost borne by us all.”
The report also highlighted a concerning trend in North America: book censorship. Since 2021, nearly 23,000 book bans have been imposed, primarily driven by conservative groups and politicians using the rhetoric of ‘parents’ rights’ to have ideological control. This trend has escalated from local disputes to state and federal levels, directly threatening freedom of expression and children’s access to stories and nonfiction that reflect their diverse cultural histories, identities, and life experiences.
This trend was also highlighted by the American Library Association (ALA) in its report titled “The State of America’s Libraries – a Snapshot of 2025”. According to ALA, U.S. librarians tracked 4,235 unique book challenges in 2025. To put that in perspective, from 2001 through 2020, the average number of unique book titles targeted for censorship each year was 273, and the highest recorded number of unique titles challenged in any year during those 20 years was 390. Of the unique titles challenged in 2025, some 40% (1,671) represent the lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ people and people of color. In 2025, ALA found that 92% of all book challenges were initiated by pressure groups and government officials, up from 72% in 2024. Less than 3% of challenges in 2025 originated from individual parents. In 2005, just 6% of challenges came from pressure groups.
American Library Association, 2026
Sam Helmick, President of the American Library Association, stated: “ … as we review the landscape of the past year, it is evident that we have arrived at a pivotal moment. The events of 2025 are marked by intensified debates over access to information and shifting fiscal priorities which have forced a reckoning. We the People are now tasked with answering a fundamental question that will define our trajectory for the next century: Are libraries merely a civic “nicety?” Are they a pleasant, nostalgic amenity to be maintained only when budgets are flush and times are quiet? Or are libraries a true American value, essential to the health and survival of our republic? If we decide they are the former, we accept the slow erosion of free public thinking, endless attainability of learning, and easily accessible assembly. But if we affirm that libraries are indeed a core American value, then we must move beyond slogans or sentimentality with shoestring budgeting. Valuing libraries requires tangible, vigorous commitment in three critical areas: use, resourcing, and supportive policy.”
Concerns with freedom of expression are confirmed by V-Dem’s new report, Democracy Report 2026 – Unraveling The Democratic Era?, as well. According to the study, almost all aspects of democracy have registered far-reaching declines during the last decade, and freedom of expression is the most attacked aspect of democracy, worsening in 44 countries by 2025.
V-Dem, 2026