Defamation Reform: Scottish PEN responds to the Justice Committee Stage 1 Report
The Justice Committee has today published the Stage 1 report on the Defamation and Malicious Publications (Scotland) Bill. Scottish PEN welcomes the report but highlights the need to progress a...
View ArticleThree years after her assassination, still no justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia
Scottish PEN joins 18 organisations in a call for justice, three years on from the assassination of investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia. On 16 October 2017, journalist Daphne Caruana...
View ArticleScottish PEN joins civil society organisations in statement on government...
Scottish PEN has joined signatories including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Article 19, Open Rights Group and others in calls to ensure the Online Harms Bill does not undermine private...
View ArticleSir Tom Devine granted honorary membership of Scottish PEN
Sir Tom Devine has accepted an offer of honorary membership of Scottish PEN. Scottish PEN has awarded Honorary Memberships to those whom we believe have made a distinctive contribution to Scottish...
View ArticleTake action: Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2020
To mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2020, Scottish PEN partnered with Wales PEN Cymru to host a free online event focused on imprisoned writers in Turkey. A recording of the event will be...
View ArticleScottish Black Writers Group with Leila Aboulela
During Black History Month, we partnered with Scottish BAME Writers Network to launch the Scottish Black Writers Group. The next meeting of the group is set for Thursday 19th November and features...
View ArticleDeclarations anthology now available to purchase from our website
Declaration on Freedom for Writers and Readers is an anthology of poetry and prose exploring freedom of expression. The year 2020 marks the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath in which...
View ArticleSection 4 to be removed from Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
Scottish PEN welcomes today’s announcement by Humza Yousaf, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, that key changes will be made to the proposed Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, including the...
View ArticleEvent: The right to write? A conversation on writing and rights in Scotland...
On Thursday 10th December, Just Festival and Scottish PEN will host a conversation with writers Leela Soma and David Manderson to mark Human Rights Day 2020. Exploring human rights issues impacting...
View ArticleSurvey: Assessing the impact of Scottish defamation law on writers and...
In partnership with the University of Strathclyde, this survey from Scottish PEN hopes to assess the impact current defamation law in Scotland has on writers, journalists, editors, publishers,...
View ArticleScottish Black Writers Group with Delia Jarrett-Macauley
During Black History Month, we partnered with Scottish BAME Writers Network to launch the Scottish Black Writers Group. The next meeting of the group is set for Thursday 17th December and features...
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Scottish PEN joins Human Rights Day civil society letter
On global Human Rights Day over 110 groups from across the UK issue an open letter to the Prime Minister and political leaders, urging them to respond proportionately to Covid-19, protect people’s...
View ArticleWatch our event: The Right to Write
On Thursday 10th December, Just Festival and Scottish PEN hosted a conversation with writers Leela Soma and David Manderson to mark Human Rights Day 2020. Watch a recording of the event below....
View ArticleScottish Black Writers Group with Alex Wheatle
Scottish Black Writers Group is a free writers group facilitated by our Co-Director Dean Atta and in association with Scottish PEN. It is a monthly event open to writers across the UK and Ireland who...
View ArticleScottish Black Writers Group with Nandi Jola
During Black History Month, we partnered with Scottish BAME Writers Network to launch the Scottish Black Writers Group. The next meeting of the group is set for Thursday 18th February and features...
View ArticleWomen Writers: Naomi Mitchison Lecture
The 2021 Naomi Mitchison Lecture will focus on issues of women’s rights. Led by Scottish PEN’s Women’s Writers Committee, and featuring guest writer Jenny Lindsay. About this Event Naomi Mitchison was...
View ArticleScottish PEN expresses concern regarding refusal of bail application by...
Scottish PEN notes with great concern that on Wednesday, 6 January, 2020, WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange was refused bail at Westminster Magistrates Court in relation to the ongoing...
View ArticleThe P Word, by Emma Doherty, Chair of the Women Writers Committee
If you haven’t already guessed by the title, the P stands for period. So if the very concept of a period leaves you feeling uneasy, put off or disgusted, then this blog is most definitely for you....
View ArticleScottish PEN statement on the online harassment of Jenny Lindsay
Harassment of poet Jenny Lindsay raises questions about the impact of online spaces on freedom for all writers. Jenny Lindsay is an award-winning spoken-word poet, writer and performer. Since June...
View ArticleEvent: Poetic Offensive at Paisley Book Festival
Join Scottish PEN at this free online event on Tuesday 23rd February (3.00pm), as part of Paisley Book Festival. When Leela Soma published her latest crime novel, Murder at the Mela, she was surprised...
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