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An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner RZ Baschir
For me, horror and the surreal come from the same source: a psychic terror, a fear of the dark, a fixation on the devouring mouth, the thing that’s not… More
New PEN America Report: Deep and Persistent Obstacles in Publishing Houses Impede Greater Diversity in Terms of Authors and Stories Told
“Publishers are the curators of America’s stories,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, chief program officer for PEN America’s Literary Programs. “They are gatekeepers who decide whose stories will be told… More
Reading Between the Lines: Race, Equity, and Book Publishing
PEN America undertook this report to better understand why the debate over the lack of diversity in publishing has seemed to stagnate, or to progress only in fits and… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cheryl Boyce-Taylor
It has always been my intention to give my readers truth and offer them permission to be truthful without judgment in their own lives and work. More
Five Year Prison Sentence Against Performance Artist in Russia Is “Unjust” Criminalization of Free Expression
PEN America called on the international community to speak out in support of Krisevich’s right to free expression. His works of protest art have long been targeted by Russian… More
Call for Release of Six Tibetans, Including 3 Writers, Sentenced to Prison on National Security-Related Charges
A report by Radio Free Asia on Tuesday revealed that the detained writers were sentenced last month on charges of “inciting separatism” and “endangering state security.” Poet and essayist… More
Two Federal Judges Announce Boycotts of Yale Law Grads for Clerkships
Jeremy C. Young, senior manager of free expression and education programs at PEN America, released the following statement: “The boycott proposed by Judges Ho and Branch is both cruel and… More
Character Development: A National Novel Writing Month Pep Talk
Writer William Myrl Smitherman writes a pep talk for incarcerated writers for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). More
On Pressing the Bounds of What’s Possible: A Conversation with Emile DeWeaver
PEN America Prison and Justice Writing intern Charley Burlock interviews writer Emile DeWeaver. More
An Interview with PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner: Seth Wang
I’m not interested in the trauma plot. But I’m very interested in the way people use trauma and identity as an apologia for shitty behavior–especially my favs, cowardice and… More