Judy Blume, James Patterson and Michael Connelly are among 24 prominent writers who have raised more than $3 million to help PEN America open an office in Miami and expand it efforts to counter Florida's surge in book bannings in recent years.
“What PEN America is doing in Florida is very important to us and our neighbors,” Connelly, who spent part of his childhood in Florida, said in a statement issued by PEN on Wednesday. “We have been astonished to see books ripped off the shelves and students forced into the middle of a fight they didn’t ask for or deserve. All of us, especially those of us who make our living in the literary world, are called upon to defend against book bans and legislation that suppresses new voices.”
