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The PEN Ten: An Interview with t. jahan
We need stories to know ourselves. We also need stories to empathize. Stories are an accessible space to come to a place of true understanding. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cleyvis Natera
These days, I write from a place of celebration and freedom I never imagined would be available to me until much later in my writing career. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Tuhin Das
People assume that things get lost in translation, but translations give me literary freedom. Translations prove that words are not bound by any border or ideology or tyrant. More
2025 PEN Prison Writing Awards – Submission Guidelines
PEN America sponsors an annual writing contest for prisoners. Anyone incarcerated in a federal, state, or county prison is eligible to enter. More
An Interview with 2022 DREAMing Out Loud Contributors, Aria Gallo and Luz Aguirre
We spoke with 2022 DREAMing Out Loud cohorts Aria Gallo and Luz Guirre about their submissions to the PEN America DREAMing Out Loud anthology. More
Introducing I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top: A NaPoWriMo Zine
PEN America's Sophia Ramirez introduces our newest Prison Writing poetry zine, "I am climbing the stairs that I create with these words all the way to the top," for… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Chinelo Okparanta
It’s a wonderful thing to learn the rules, and to learn them well. Only by learning them can you learn the clever ways to break them. More
“Do you really want to know why the caged bird sings?”: On Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir
Emma Stamen reviews Marlon Peterson’s Abolitionist Memoir Bird Uncaged (Bold Type Books, 2021) More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with K-Ming Chang
I'm interested in the language serving itself, and reveling in the language and sound as their own form of meaning and beauty. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kelley Nicole Girod
Recording our lived experience is a declaration of our humanity in a world where many of us still aren’t seen as fully human. More