From meditations on birds to a collection of Cuban poems, from an empowering young adult novel to an homage to drag, more than 50 titles written, translated, and illustrated by PEN America Members have been published this year. The members of PEN America are a distinguished ensemble of teachers, translators, librarians, and novelists across genres whose works have been lauded in The New York Times, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and more. Help us congratulate our members on their accomplishments by checking out their publications!
We encourage you to browse below for a sample of members’ works from 2023. You can also view the full list of works that are available to purchase on Bookshop here.
If you are a PEN America Member who has published a work in 2023, please let us know by writing to [email protected]; if the work is available on Bookshop, then we’ll add it to our list!
A Year of Books by PEN America Members
Something, Someday, by Amanda Gorman
“Gorman immerses readers in the experience, assuring them that they are not alone in their longings for a better world.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
*PEN America earns commissions on purchases through Bookshop.org to support its work defending free expression.
Conversations with Birds, by Priyanka Kumar
“In this collection of elegant and evocative essays, a novelist reflects on the beauty and significance of birds, those animals that become a portal to a more vivid, enchanted world.” —The New York Times
Good Night, Irene, by Luis Alberto Urrea
“Epic . . . Rambunctious . . . Highly entertaining . . . Sorrowful and funny . . . Cheerfully profane . . . The quips and jokes come fast through a poignant novel that is very much about time itself . . . A powerful rendering of a Mexican-American family that is also an American family.” —Viet Thanh Nguyen, New York Times Book Review
Kappa, by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated by Allison Markin Powell and Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
One never tires of reading and re-reading his best works… The flow of his language is the best feature of Akutagawa’s style. Never stagnant, it moves along like a living thing. —Haruki Murakami
Pass the Baby, by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Raúl Colón
“Written in rhyme, this story captures the joy and chaos of a family dinner when one of the guests is a beloved, doted-on baby. . . . Colón’s handmade illustrations give the tale a cozy feel. . . . A sweet reminder to siblings big and small that they are all important members of the family.” —Kirkus Reviews
The Fires, by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir, translated by Larissa Kyzer
“This fiercely wrought thriller from Björnsdóttir perfectly balances science and psychology…Björnsdóttir smoothly integrates geological and historical information about Iceland’s volcanos into the action. This explosive tale of adulterous passion is not just for Scandi noir fans.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Highwire Act & Other Tales of Survival, by JoeAnn Hart
“JoeAnn Hart’s extraordinary stories take you on a trip: to a dystopian future; to the tidewaters of Gloucester; to the chambers of a haunted mill. But in the end, the real place she takes us is the center of the human heart. These unforgettable tales are generous, brilliant, and fierce.” —Jennifer Finney Boylan, author and PEN America President
Alex Cross Must Die, by James Patterson
Hope You Are Satisfied, by Tania Malik
“Malik’s novel tautly occupies the in between. Dubai itself pulls many of the strings, with a dark glamour…. A suspenseful story stowed in the moment before a major historical event.”—Kirkus Reviews
Who Does That Bitch Think She Is: Doris Fish and the Rise of Drag, by Craig Seligman
“This smart, funny, and sexy queer history is a smash.” —Publishers Weekly
“An intimate feel to a lively read. Drag culture and camp humor hit it big…” —Kirkus Reviews
Adventures with Claudie, by Brit Bennett
Forgiving Imelda Marcos, by Nathan Go
“Go’s narrative burns slowly, gracing the novel with an understated yet profound power. A tender meditation on the unseen moments that shape history and the human spirit.”—Kirkus Reviews
Delicates, by Wendy Guerra, translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson and Esperanza Hope Snyder
“Guerra is a Cuban poet who takes the island’s colonial history as a subject and expands it into other contexts like the dynamics of erotic relationships.”—The New York Times
Identity, by Nora Roberts
“Roberts effectively enhances the plot of her latest stellar, perfectly paced novel of suspense and romance with a superbly realized cast of characters that underscores the importance in life of family and friends.” —Booklist
Jett Jamison and the Secret Storm, by Kimberly Behre Kenna
“Libraries and readers seeking exceptional preteen fiction that focuses on abuse, growth, recovery, and resources for healing trauma that operate and influence on different levels will find Jett Jamison and the Secret Storm powerfully written and compellingly presented.” —Midwest Book Reviews
It’s the End of the World, My Love, by Alla Gorbunova, translated by Elina Alter
“Stunningly diverse and at the same time impeccably holistic, nakedly sincere and bizarrely inventive, naive and wise, frightening and comfortable – Alla Gorbunova’s book seems to deliberately elude any unambiguous epithets, or rather, contains them all, while remaining something immeasurable large and simply different.”—Galina Yuzefovich, Meduza
Homeland of My Body, by Richard Blanco
“Tender and introspective. . . . An exceptional mid-career snapshot of a trailblazing poet’s remarkable journey.”—Booklist
