Who wasn't there: Absent writers recognized at conference

As writers, we value free speech and do our best to protect this right for ourselves and other writers. At the recent CNFC conference at the Banff Centre, a chair was set aside in each room to display the photo of a writer who has suffered the pain of being silenced.

The PEN photo is Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, who is serving 18 years because he called for freedom of expression and an end to torture in his native land.

Amnesty International has organized a campaign of protest against the unjust incarceration of a man who did nothing more than to publish his informed opinion on matters of great importance to all. It is now possible for interested individuals to show their support for this jailed journalist by signing the Amnesty petition online.