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Why We Need Diverse LGBTQI Books
LGBTQI literature, while no longer taboo, still rests on uneasy ground in our school libraries. The tragedy, of course, is that young people are the ones who need these… More
PEN DIY: How To
We enter the world without an instruction manual. Parents and teachers impart what they're able; we intuit life lessons from Balki or Brenda or Kramer; we emulate boy bands;… More
Reservation Sunsets and ‘Salem’s Lot
Maybe the banning advocate truly is the 13 year old, terrified that his secret life is out, that some novelist had looked into his private world and reported from… More
From A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
The designation 02 was stenciled above the truck bumper in white paint, meaning it belonged to the Interior Ministry, meaning there would be no record of the arrest, meaning… More
the puzzle box
he didn't have to say much anymore. he could imply. there was the equation, and the proof, and there was a little machine we could build and imagine it… More
The King of Little Things
After marching for days, King Normous and his armies at last neared the land of the King of Little Things. This would not be a fair fight. And that’s… More
Introduction by the Author
Facts of the past slip away into constellations, forever subject to interpretation. But words? Ah, words will dig their serif'd fingers into gray matter and take hold. More
On Beauty: Banning Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye
The narrative that Pecola absorbs from the world around her is simple. It tells her that to be beautiful is to be white. It shapes her identity at the… More
Future Fiction of America
In the spirit of celebrating the honorees for this year’s PEN Literary Awards on September 29th, we’re holding a contest for best book title. More
Student Languishes in Detention for Facebook Post in Nigeria
PEN Nigeria responds to the detention of a Nigerian student for over 20 days for Facebook posts criticizing a state governor. More
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