Laurie Penny

English journalist, columnist and author · United Kingdom · On the map · Journalists · Born 1986 · age 40

Laurie Penny is a British journalist and writer. Penny has written articles for publications including The Guardian, The Spectator, The New York Times, and Salon.

Laurie Penny is read about 60 times a day, in 13 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

Something wrong?

Compare Claim

A life in dates

2018“If you won’t debate, the argument goes, you’re an enemy of free speech.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

“Too many well-meaning liberals are clinging with ten fingernails to the idea that their institutions are robust enough to withstand fascism.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

“I will not be bullied by bad-faith actors trying to rules-lawyer my own principles against me into treating neo-Nazis with respect they don’t deserve.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

“Moderate liberalism cherishes the idea of “civility” because it allows it to believe in its own goodness and relevance.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

“It’s a mistake to think that the far right cares about the free speech debate as anything other than a way of confusing the enemy.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

“If we deny racists a platform, they feed off the appearance of censorship, but if we give them a platform, they’ve won by being respectfully invited into the mainstream.”In their wordsSeptember 2018Longreads (September 2018) Full text onlineRead the whole statement

2015Nieman FellowshipAward1986Born28 September 1986

Also in Deutsch

Media & music

Photos 1

In their own words 4

Laurie Penny

4 statements, newest first

The far right does not respect the free and liberal exchange of ideas. It is not open to compromise, and it does not want a debate. It wants power.
September 2018 · Longreads (September 2018) Full text online, Own words
Being better at debating does not make you right. It just makes you better at debating.
September 2018 · Longreads (September 2018) Full text online, Own words
It is staggeringly clear that formal debate is failing to stop white supremacy. This is not an abstract philosophical issue.
September 2018 · Longreads (September 2018) Full text online, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Nieman Fellowship2015

About this person

Penny is a contributing editor at the New Statesman and the author of several books on feminism, and they have also written for American television shows including The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Nevers.

Country

United Kingdom

Where to find them

XPennyRed IMDb Websitelaurie-penny.com

Journalists from the United Kingdom 6

Jonathan Freedland50.5 of 100

Andrew Neil50.5 of 100 Mark Doyle50.5 of 100

Jo Whiley48.3 of 100 Derek Taylor50.6 of 100

Rory Reid50.5 of 100