A person with short brown hair smiles at the camera. They are wearing a red and white striped shirt and a necklace. The background is plain white.

Claire Mehrotra

Coordinator, Literary Programs

Claire Mehrotra is the former Literary Programs Coordinator at PEN America. Prior to PEN, she worked at Random House as a Publicity Assistant, working on books by authors such as Hisham Matar, Jordan Peele, Patricia Evangelista, and Ed Yong. They also interned at organizations including Pegasus Books and the Center for Fiction. Claire is passionate about championing queer voices in literature, with a special affection for books that use experimental forms to explore gender expression and identity.

Currently an active writer, their work has been published by Bullshit Lit, Collision Magazine, WAS Quarterly, and Maudlin House. They are currently working on their debut novel.

Mehrotra received their BA in English & American Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing from New York University.


Articles by Claire Mehrotra

A person with short brown hair, glasses, and a black shirt smiles next to the cover of a comic novel titled Spent by Alison Bechdel, featuring two illustrated characters—one in an apron and another with a pitchfork.
Writing as Craft
Wednesday May 21

Alison Bechdel is Covering Her Tracks

After spending so many years working very hard to write the precise truth about my life, it was just a blast to make shit up.

A person with shoulder-length hair and glasses is wearing a pink top. Next to them is the cover of the book Woodworking by Emily St. James, featuring a classroom scene with empty chairs and desks. The background is light gray.
Writing as Craft
Friday March 7

What Emily St. James Hopes You Learn About the Trans Experience From Her Debut Novel

I sometimes think that too many believe trans people were invented in a queer studies lab at Vassar in 2015.