An innocent person in prison suffers feelings of isolation, loneliness, and loss. The knowledge that you defended me against unjust accusations against me brought me joy and strengthened my will to come to terms with the harsh conditions of my imprisonment.
Czech writer, Eva Kanturkova 1982

The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN was set up in 1960 as a result of mounting concern about attempts to silence critical voices around the world. An office was set up at the PEN head office in London to gather information and to alert the PEN membership to take action. The WiPC is now staffed by a team of experts who monitor around 1,000 attacks on writers, journalists, editors, poets, publishers and others in any given year. These include long prison terms, harassment, threats, and murder. The WiPC team alerts the international PEN membership of urgent cases, keeps it abreast of developments on individual cases of attacks as well as global trends affecting free expression, and gives advice on actions and campaigns. These actions include protest letters, lobbying governments, and public awareness raising. Through writing to families and, where possible, directly to prisoners, PEN members provide encouragement and hope. For more information on International PEN’s WiP programme, please click here.

Melbourne PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee

For those of us who consider reading and writing an essential part of life, the idea that a writer, editor or publisher could be pressured, imprisoned or blacklisted because of his/her work is a horrifying one. Melbourne PEN has an active programme of letter writing, events and publicity designed to increase international pressure on governments that persecute writers for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression. The keystone of our programme is our response to Rapid Action Network alerts issued by London PEN.

The current Melbourne PEN WiP report is issued as part of our quarterly newsletter. The latest newsletter can be downloaded from the PEN Quarterlies page.

How to get involved

Volunteers are always needed to send letters in protest to governments that imprison writers for their work. If you are interested in writing or sending letters in support of writers in prison, please contact us.

Email the Melbourne PEN Writers in Prison Committee