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Ayad Akhtar’s Remarks at the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala
“Reading, of course, is an individual act, but a culture that fosters reading and one that supports writers, invariably compels us to presence, to protest, to celebration.” More
An Update from PEN America Los Angeles
Michelle Franke will be stepping down from her role on October 8 to become Executive Director of Humanitas, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
“That’s all a story really is: two or more people getting together, and one of them letting out what they need to be heard.” More
The PEN Pod: On Writer-to-Writer Solidarity and the Rise of Book Bans with Suzanne Nossel
“For us, at PEN, doing a lot of work on press freedom issues. . . it’s a reminder of what we’re fighting for.” More
The PEN Pod: On Trauma, Identity, and Reinvention with Dan O’Brien
“It’s so important to me to push through the taboo of what we shouldn’t speak about and can’t speak about, or feel we can’t speak about.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with José Vadi
“Writing about my history and those histories I’ve inherited about my family from different family members has allowed me to embrace the missing gaps of the collective familiar timeline.” More
2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award: Gail Newel and Mimi Hall
PEN America bestows its 2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award on Gail Newel and Mimi Hall. More
The PEN Pod: On Reporting on Russia and the Climate for Foreign Journalists with Sarah Rainsford
“The climate for journalism and generally in Russia is closing down. It’s changing, it’s getting harder, it’s getting tougher. And for some reason, I appear to have been singled… More
The PEN Pod: On Authoritarianism, Abortion Restrictions, and Protecting the Freedom to Learn
“They are people who deserve our support, who’ve been working as human rights defenders inside their countries, who now are faced with the loss of their livelihood.” More
2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award: Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi
PEN America bestows its 2021 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award on Iranian writers Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi. More