The City of Asylum program provides safe haven for writers whose voices are muffled by censorship, or who are living with the threat of imprisonment or assassination. In 2001, City of Asylum Las Vegas was founded, the first such program in the United States. Groups in Ithaca, New York; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Santa Fe, New Mexico have since formed similar programs.

Originally, asylum cities operated under the auspices of the International Parliament of Writers in Paris, which oversaw the greater worldwide asylum network of some 35 cities, most of which are in Europe. Upon the dissolution in 2004 of the IPW, Cities of Refuge North America (formerly the North American Network of Cities of Asylum) was formed in order to serve as an umbrella organization and information clearinghouse for programs in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada as they developed.

A City of Asylum is a free space, unfettered by censorship or political repression, in which writers who have undergone such hardship may safely practice their craft. Writers are hosted by a city or region for a period of two years. The writer receives a $40,000 annual stipend, a home or apartment, health insurance, and help securing translation of their creative work into English.