HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, MACMILLAN PUBLISHERS, AND PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE JOIN NEW SAFETY INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT AUTHORS AMID ESCALATING BOOK BANS 

NEW YORK, NY (April 10, 2026) — PEN America, with help from main publishing homes and literary businesses, immediately introduced plans to determine a U.S. Creator Security Program to assist shield writers going through harassment and threats pushed by a pernicious wave of censorship that’s eroding free expression and disrupting authors’ skilled lives.

Constructing on years of labor opposing guide bans and supporting U.S. journalists beneath assault on-line, the writers group is increasing its experience to satisfy a rising want for security help within the literary neighborhood. As a part of its mission to have a good time literature and defend free expression, PEN America plans to supply security coaching, consultations, assets and peer help for U.S. authors who’re going through harassment and safety dangers linked to their work. PEN will roll out this system beginning this summer time with outreach to the literary neighborhood and plans to start small group security consultations with authors within the fall.

“We now have heard from numerous authors, illustrators, and translators who’re beneath siege, heading off a gentle stream of abuse and threats, on-line and at guide occasions,” mentioned Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, co-chief govt officer of PEN America. “Via this new program, the literary and publishing neighborhood is stepping up collectively as a result of writers shouldn’t be pressured to decide on between their security and their voice. For years PEN America has helped journalists deal with on-line harassment, and now we have fought for the liberty to write down, learn, and study. Now, we’re bringing all that have collectively to satisfy the second. Each author silenced by intimidation is a loss for readers and for our democracy.”

Among the many taking part publishing homes are three of the “Large 5,” with Hachette Guide Group (HBG) and Macmillan Publishers serving as lead companions working with PEN America. Penguin Random Home, together with HBG bestselling writer David Baldacci, additionally joined the trouble as did The New York Neighborhood Belief, with a particular grant to help N.Y.-based writers going through harassment.

So far, these supporters have contributed almost $1 million towards the institution of this system. PEN America is in search of to boost greater than $2 million in complete, calling on different publishers, businesses, and donors to step as much as increase assets for this important work. PEN America can also be holding an public sale this spring by which bestselling authors, together with Jodi Picoult, Jean Korelitz, Jennifer Egan, and Lee Youngster, will probably be auctioning off character names of their forthcoming books with proceeds going to this system.

In 2023, PEN America labored with HBG to ship a sequence of digital security workshops that reached almost 200 HBG authors and publishing professionals, providing periods on defending towards on-line abuse, doxing, and different intimidation techniques. These applications – along with a broader pilot supported by Scholastic Corp. which reached 300 authors and their allies — helped form the brand new U.S. Creator Security Program’s focus and curriculum.

David Shelley, CEO of Hachette Guide Group and Hachette UK and a PEN America trustee, mentioned: “There have most likely by no means been as many threats to authors’ security as there are at present within the U.S. At HBG, we’re proud to help this much-needed program from PEN America that can give writers a variety {of professional} assets to assist them take care of threats to their security, on-line and offline. From early workshops, the response has been universally constructive, and I believe that is going to be a vastly impactful program.”

Jon Yaged, CEO of Macmillan Publishers mentioned, “Macmillan believes authors ought to have the ability to write, publish, and have interaction with readers with out concern for his or her security. As guide bans proceed to rise, we’re seeing extra authors face harassment merely for doing their work. This partnership with PEN America is about ensuring writers have the help and assets they should navigate these dangers, and to maintain telling the tales that matter. Defending authors is important to defending the liberty to learn.”

PEN America first launched its digital security program in 2018 to help journalists and information organizations bearing the brunt of on-line assaults. Since then, the group has collaborated with greater than 250 newsrooms, universities, nonprofits, {and professional} associations via coaching, occasions, and consultations. Altogether, this system has supplied greater than 22,000 folks with sensible steerage on the best way to navigate doxing, cyber mobs, hate speech, and threats; PEN America’s Subject Guide and different digital security assets have drawn thousands and thousands of views on-line.

As guide bans started surging nationwide, PEN America tailored this method to particularly help authors whose books had been being challenged or faraway from public faculties and libraries. In a 2025 survey of its membership, PEN America discovered that: 66% of respondents reported feeling much less secure or extra in danger in reference to their writing than they’d 5 years earlier; 77% reported worrying with digital security and on-line harassment in connection to their work; and almost one third  mentioned that they are going to be extra cautious within the coming years about what they write about.

The troubling experiences of two bestselling authors whose books have been banned in faculties—Jodi Picoult and Jonathan Evison — illustrate the development. Picoult, one of the ceaselessly banned authors, has spoken of being harassed and threatened on-line after posting feedback about political figures, underscoring the private danger authors face for partaking in public debate.

“We live in an period the place being an writer could be a dangerous job, as writers are being threatened with violence and harassed for his or her activism and their identities,” mentioned Picoult, a PEN America Board of Trustees member. “As a type of focused authors who acquired loss of life threats, PEN America’s security staff was a essential useful resource for me at a really darkish time. You don’t notice how a lot you worth security till it’s gone.”

Evison first skilled backlash towards his 2018 novel Garden Boy the morning after a fall 2021 Texas faculty district board assembly when he woke as much as a flood of emails and social media messages. “I began opening these messages, and the primary one was a loss of life menace,” he was quoted saying: “The following one was calling me a pedophile and a groomer. And the subsequent one was describing horrible issues sexually about my daughters…and I’m like, ‘What within the hell is occurring?’”

“Navigating the digital world as an writer is more difficult than ever,” mentioned bestselling writer Robyn Harding, who participated in these 2023 workshops. “I’m grateful that there are helps just like the PEN America / HBG workshop on digital security to supply help and steerage.”

When the brand new security program is launched, authors will have the ability to join with the security staff instantly, in addition to via their publishers, brokers, editors, literary organizations, and writers membership teams. This system will probably be tailor-made to authors’ distinctive wants, making an allowance for that they usually work independently, with out the institutional help of an employer, that they want a powerful public and on-line presence, and that they must be ready journey to literary occasions with out concern for his or her security.

PEN America expects to supply: security coaching for authors, writers’ teams, skilled associations, literary organizations, publishing homes, businesses, and bookstores; multimedia security assets; one-on-one and small-group consults with security specialists; and entry to see help. These assets will probably be free for particular person authors. 

About Hachette Guide Group:

Hachette Guide Group (HBG) is a number one U.S. general-interest guide writer made up of dozens of esteemed imprints throughout the publishing teams Fundamental Books Group, Grand Central Publishing Group, Hachette Audio, Little, Brown and Firm, Little, Brown Books for Younger Readers, Orbit, Workman Publishing, and Working Press Group. We additionally present customized distribution, achievement, and gross sales providers to a number of publishing corporations.   

Our books and authors have acquired the Pulitzer Prize, Nationwide Guide Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Prize, James Beard Award, and different main honors.    

We’re dedicated to variety in our firm and our publishing applications, and to fostering a tradition of inclusion for all our staff and authors. We’re proud to be a part of Hachette Livre, the world’s third-largest commerce and academic writer.    

Go to hachettebookgroup.com to study extra about HBG imprints. For up to date information comply with HBG on Fb, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, TikTok, X.com, Snapchat, and YouTube. 

About PEN America

PEN America stands on the intersection of literature and human rights to guard free expression in the USA and worldwide. We champion the liberty to write down, recognizing the ability of the phrase to remodel the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to have a good time artistic expression and defend the liberties that make it attainable. Study extra at pen.org.

Contact: Gabrielle Gambrell, gabrielle.gambrell@hbgusa.com