At this year’s PEN America Literary Gala, held on May 15 at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, Macmillan Publishers CEO Jon Yaged was honored with the free expression nonprofit’s annual 2025 Business Visionary Award, recognizing “transformative contributions to the world of literature and storytelling.” In his acceptance speech, Yaged took aim at the efforts to censor free expression that have increasingly defined American culture—and federal policy—over the past several years, and since the January inauguration of President Donald Trump in particular.
“Today the concepts of censorship and free expression have been co-opted by people that want anything but the free exchange of ideas and the freedom to read,” Yaged said. “Their message is clear and overt: do what we want or else. Or else we will boycott you, delete your post, encourage others to dox you, or worse—instigate physical violence against you and threaten you with incarceration. Their message is do what we want or we will take your funding away, threaten your livelihood, tax your endowment, close your library or investigate you for nameless crimes. All of this has a chilling effect and encourages self-censorship. People don’t know what they can do, so they stop saying or doing anything. Stop out of fear of criminal prosecution or financial ruin.”
Yaged pointed to the many spaces in America in which efforts to censor free expression have borne fruit over the past several months. “We have seen newspapers restrict what can appear in their opinion sections. Social media outlets stop fact checking. They tout free speech yet delete posts and try to silence those who hold opinions that are contrary to their purpose: gaining more influence over our lives and enriching themselves at our expense,” he said. “The U.S. government has called book banning a hoax while simultaneously removing hundreds of books from Military Academies and DOD schools. Our government has even banned the use of words, utterly unthinkable throughout my lifetime, and is initiating legal proceedings against people who don’t step in line. States are now emboldened by this and are passing laws, in some cases with criminal penalties, for people who make certain, vaguely described, types of books available.”
“All of this,” Yaged continued, “limits conversation and the free exchange of ideas. It stigmatizes reading at a time when we need, more than ever, to encourage kids to read. It impedes critical and analytical thinking. It makes us a less effective democracy. Simply put, this makes us weaker, puts us on a path to mediocrity as a people and decline as a nation.”
Pointing to Macmillan’s history of defending freedom of expression, Yaged called the award “a recognition of that history and the commitment the entire Macmillan team has to defending the right to read.” He noted that he was the second Macmillan CEO to receive the honor, after former Macmillan CEO John Sargent in 2017.
“I’m a book publisher,” Yaged said. “We bring information, insight, knowledge and entertainment to readers. At Macmillan, one of our values is ‘impact.’ We believe in the power of books to connect people, foster innovation, amplify diverse voices, and contribute to the global conversation. To do this, we publish a wide variety of books. Not just the ones we agree with. Not just the ones politicians or business leaders want us to publish. We know we are better off, and the world is better off, with a multitude of perspectives.”
Yaged added: “While these times are incredibly trying, I’m encouraged by the fact that humanity has overcome moments like this in the past. History shows us that. It might not be easy and often comes with some pain, but as long as we continue to resist, as long as groups like PEN America continue to speak the truth and highlight hypocrisy when it appears, free expression endures.”
