English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching Time to Read, a new e-book collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases from all over the globe
Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Belarusian journalist Iryna Khalip and British theatre producer David Cecil are among the contributors to an anthology on the necessity of reading in prison. As former prisoners they wrote these pieces in support of English PEN’s campaign with the Howard League for Penal Reform against restrictions on sending books to prisoners in the UK. These restrictions were introduced by the Ministry of Justice in November 2013 as part of a crackdown on what ministers have described as prisoners’ ‘perks and privileges’.
The central message of the Books for Prisoners campaign is that books should not be seen as a privilege but as a necessity. For prisoners, books can be a calming influence in an otherwise chaotic environment. They can provide companionship at a very lonely time. A book can turn incarceration into a constructive and even creative experience.
As well as providing powerful testimony to the importance of books in detention, the anthology serves as a poignant reminder of why English PEN’s core work of sending letters and books to individual writers at risk is so important. This is one of the oldest and most tangible ways in which English PEN shows support for writers at risk in other countries, and remains one of the most powerful ways for our members and supporters to show solidarity with brave colleagues around the world.
We are proud to publish this anthology to mark the Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2014 and to highlight the continued plight of writers and other literary professionals all over the world. We hope that it will inspire and encourage more of you to join our ongoing campaign to make the freedom to write and the freedom to read a reality for everyone.
Take Action
Download the ebook
We are asking everyone who downloads the collection to consider pledging to send a book to a writer at risk. For those of you active on social media, we would encourage you to take a photo of the book you decide to send and to share it on Twitter, Facebook and other social media with the hashtags #ImprisonedWriter and #DOIW and our handle @englishpen.
For further information, or if you would prefer to make a contribution to the ongoing work of our Writer at Risk Programme, please contact our Writers at Risk Programme Manager Cat Lucas on cat@englishpen.org
Spread the word
We’d be most grateful if you tell your friends and colleagues about the publication, via email or on social media. Please use the hashtags #ImprisonedWriter and #DOIW and our handle @englishpen. Click here to send a tweet.
English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer with launch of new e-book collection Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #DOIW
RT @englishpen: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer with launch of new e-book collection Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA…
.@pen_int And here it is! http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA
RT @englishpen: .@pen_int And here it is! http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA
RT @englishpen: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer with launch of new e-book collection Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA…
RT @englishpen: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer with launch of new e-book collection Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA…
RT @englishpen: .@pen_int And here it is! http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA
It’s the Day of the Imprisoned Writer; download @englishpen’s e-book of work by writers at risk. http://t.co/nNgOyOejo0
Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #ImprisonedWriter #DOIW
RT @englishpen: Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
This. “We are asking everyone who downloads the collection to consider pledging to send a book to a writer at risk” http://t.co/eUUif2co69
RT @slender_means: This. “We are asking everyone who downloads the collection to consider pledging to send a book to a writer at risk” http…
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/UjvPG80DVg #DOIW
RT @robertsharp59: I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/UjvPG80DVg #DOIW
RT @englishpen: Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/8Awo8Z3Yvu #DOIW
Download @englishpen’s TIME TO READ anthology here:
http://t.co/USXUgCYbpN
Books are a right, not a privilege!
RT @englishpen: Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
RT @robertsharp59: I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/UjvPG80DVg #DOIW
So the book we just published is the third we have published on the day of the Imprisoned writer http://t.co/QazLtj8uhC #DOIW
RT @englishpen: Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
RT @englishpen: So the book we just published is the third we have published on the day of the Imprisoned writer http://t.co/QazLtj8uhC #DO…
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ #ImprisonedWriter #DOIW @englishpen http://t.co/ioM4H4molW #DOIW
English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/rMSiGUuf24 via @englishpen
English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/bSwdUDbwJa via @englishpen
RT @SteveKomarnycky: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/bSwdUDbwJa via @engl…
RT @CathalSheerin: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/rMSiGUuf24 via @englis…
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/qjZcrWIy7k #DOIW
RT @NickyHarman_cn: I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/qjZcrWIy7k #DOIW
English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching Time to Read http://t.co/IiZBun6JGM
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/wPGeJ6A26y #DOIW
RT @englishpen: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer with launch of new e-book collection Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA…
English PEN @englishpen marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/ZNwb8gXipy
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/5hr3mKS2cW #DOIW great idea to support unjustly imprisoned authors
I do not engage with Facebook or Twitter, or know or care what a ‘hashtag’ is, but if you will send me a list of people who would like (used) books, mostly English but some in other languages (mainly modern Greek) I will send some off.
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/0xftxMd1aS #DOIW
Books in prison are a necessity and not a privilege! I just downloaded free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’: http://t.co/iLkacEN1nz #DOIW.
English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/n4lcBHuycJ via @englishpen
A good and great idea. The Iranian regime banned prisoners, specially out of Tehran to read books in custody despite the Iranian Penal Code.
I downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/Cms5U496wV #DOIW – a book about the importance of books to prisoners.
I am excited to read the newly downloaded (and free!) @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/9s3NMs1Bci #DOIW
RT @yearofpoetry: I am excited to read the newly downloaded (and free!) @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/9s3NMs1Bci #DOIW
an anthology for everyone from @englishpen #Imprisionedwriter http://t.co/FD56YySY6J
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/Lu6Zcfdh6e #DOIW
RT @gmehn: I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/Lu6Zcfdh6e #DOIW
Have you seen this? @piersbarber18 http://t.co/uyabloqmZh
I just downloaded the free @englishpen #ebook ‘#Time to #Read’ http://t.co/iWtVhgFqh8 #DOIW #prisonreform #prisons #humanrights #humanWhys
Show your support for writers at risk by downloading our latest free e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #ImprisonedWriter #DOIW
RT @englishpen: Show your support for writers at risk by downloading our latest free e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
RT @englishpen: Show your support for writers at risk by downloading our latest free e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
RT @englishpen: Show your support for writers at risk by downloading our latest free e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
Thanks to everyone that has downloaded our latest e-book. And don’t forget to pledge to send a book http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWriter
RT @englishpen: Show your support for writers at risk by downloading our latest free e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
‘It’s possible to live here,’ I thought, ‘there is something to read’ – Iryna Khalip http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #DOIW #ImprisonedWriter #Belarus
RT @englishpen: ‘It’s possible to live here,’ I thought, ‘there is something to read’ – Iryna Khalip http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #DOIW #Imprison…
RT @englishpen: ‘It’s possible to live here,’ I thought, ‘there is something to read’ – Iryna Khalip http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #DOIW #Imprison…
RT @englishpen: ‘It’s possible to live here,’ I thought, ‘there is something to read’ – Iryna Khalip http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #DOIW #Imprison…
A prisoner’s closest friend, his most faithful friend, is a book – Mamadali Makhmudov http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWriter #DOIW
RT @englishpen: A prisoner’s closest friend, his most faithful friend, is a book – Mamadali Makhmudov http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWri…
RT @englishpen: A prisoner’s closest friend, his most faithful friend, is a book – Mamadali Makhmudov http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWri…
RT @LitWorks: Books make up your entire world when you are a prisoner – @tolokno among the contributors to our latest e-book http://t.co/tx…
Enoh Meyomesse is also one of the writers featured in our latest (free!) e-book, Time to Read http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #FreeEnoh
They’re another thing to write on, besides the walls – David Cecil on #booksforprisoners http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWriter #DOIW
To mark Day of the Imprisoned Writer: http://t.co/II0egzwhqX Incls Muharrem Erbey’s moving piece, first pub’d in @Soc_of_Authors TheAuthor.
RT @englishpen: A prisoner’s closest friend, his most faithful friend, is a book – Mamadali Makhmudov http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3 #ImprisonedWri…
RT @j_mcconnachie: To mark Day of the Imprisoned Writer: http://t.co/II0egzwhqX Incls Muharrem Erbey’s moving piece, first pub’d in @Soc_o…
RT @CathalSheerin: English PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/rMSiGUuf24 via @englis…
RT @englishpen: Download our latest e-book – a collection of work by writers at risk and former PEN cases http://t.co/2PGKBuAzKA #Imprisone…
RT @NotShutUpUK: .@englishpen marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer by launching ‘Time to Read’ e-Book http://t.co/A7IrnFMAVV
Have you downloaded our latest e-book, Time to Read? We’d love to know what you think… http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3
RT @englishpen: Have you downloaded our latest e-book, Time to Read? We’d love to know what you think… http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3
RT @englishpen: Have you downloaded our latest e-book, Time to Read? We’d love to know what you think… http://t.co/RRisHzLcM3
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’: http://t.co/iLkacEN1nz #DOIW.
I just downloaded the free @englishpen eBook ‘Time to Read’ http://t.co/wgAjuMnkAS #DOIW
.@englishpen marks the #DayofImprisonedWriter by launching #TimetoRead #ebook http://t.co/MQPSz5XICt #writers #authors #booksforprisoners
“A book can turn incarceration into a constructive.. creative experience.” Check out @englishpen’s fab e-anthology http://t.co/2NtpYRLAM5.
RT @noreadingingaol: “A book can turn incarceration into a constructive.. creative experience.” Check out @englishpen’s fab e-anthology htt…