Author Ann Patchett and film producer Jason Blum are among those who spoke at PEN America's annual gala, which raised more than $2 million for the century-old literary and free expression organization.

Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden received the Champion of Writers Award from the Authors Guild.

Mississippi author Greg Iles has died at 65.

Best-selling novelist Amy Tan of “The Joy Luck Club” fame combines entries from her nature journal with astonishing illustrations thanks to lessons in bird illustration in “The Backyard Bird Chronicles,” to share a birdwatching obsession that dates back to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joe Biden welcomed a high-wattage collection of singers, authors, artists and humanitarians to the White House on Tuesday to present them with medals — and then stole the show himself with a quip about seeking reelection.

Joni Mitchell has received honorary membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the century old institution where general inductees have ranged from Henry James and Georgia O’Keeffe to Sonny Rollins and Jasper Johns.

The film will debut at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. (Sundance Film Festival via AP)Sundance Institute programs. Organizers on Tuesday unveiled a robust and diverse slate for the festival, which will be largely virtual due to the pandemic. Yutani said that the Sesame Street documentary, “Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street” is likely to be a crowd favorite. “We all are so excited about the possibility of encountering people who’ve never been to the festival," Jackson said.

This image released by the Library of Congress shows Heath Ledger, left, and Christian Bale in a scene from the 2008 film "The Dark Knight." The film was added to the National Film Registry. (Warner Bros.-Library of Congress via AP)LOS ANGELES – This year's inductees into the National Film Registry include a record number of female directors and filmmakers of color as well as a new crop of movies ranging from a silent short film thriller, classic musicals and an acclaimed Batman film. The national library said this year’s selections include a record nine films directed by women and filmmakers of color. Christopher Nolan’s 2008 Batman film “The Dark Knight” was a blockbuster and the top public vote-getter.

LOS ANGELES – James Redford, a filmmaker, activist and son of actor Robert Redford, has died. Kyle said her husband’s liver disease returned two years ago and the cancer was discovered in November last year while he waited on a liver transplant. “We’re heartbroken,” his wife wrote about her husband, who was called Jamie. He expressed gratitude for a liver transplant that saved his life in an HBO documentary “The Kindness of Strangers” in 1999. He also established the James Redford Institute in 1995 for Transplant Awareness to raise money and distribute tools to increase awareness about the shortage of organ donors.