PEN Out Loud
PEN Out Loud focuses on amplifying diverse voices and convening vital conversations with authors, poets, journalists, artists, and activists.
This fall, these conversations will explore an imagined Nigeria, political intrigue, the perils of the internet age, and the bonds of friendship to illuminate the breadth of our collective imagination and highlight the role of the written word in our hearts and in our minds. Through its ability to cross borders, encourage creative collaboration, break down language barriers, and reflect on who and where we are, each event this season reminds us of the shared humanity that literature offers all readers.
$20 General Admission*
* Admission with books, signed books, and bookplates available at additional cost.
Note: Wole Soyinka’s PEN Out Loud event is free.
Presented in collaboration with Strand Book Store and Scripps Presents.
ASL interpretive services are provided by ProBono ASL.
Virtual programs are made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.
The New York Public Library is an additional partner of PEN Out Loud’s Fall 2021 season.
Past Events
Reading Lists
Form, Fact, and Fiction: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
Curated by PEN America’s Literary Programs Department, this reading list highlights books and complementary titles from our signature PEN Out Loud event series. More
The Witches Are Coming: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
Lindy West and Hari Kondabolu will discuss West's "The Witches Are Coming" at PEN Out Loud on November 6. In anticipation, here are 16 titles on the power of… More
From Near and Far: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
PEN America shares 21 novels and poetry collections that cross nations, genres, and identities in anticipation of our October PEN Out Loud event. More
Memory and Modernity: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
PEN America shares 17 genre-spanning works that consider power and memory in relation to contemporary and historical spaces. More
Real and Reimagined: A PEN Out Loud Reading List
PEN America shares 16 books that redefine storytelling, reimagine beloved classics, and reflect upon the relationship between reality and fantasy. More
Diaspora and Migration: A Reading List
17 books that catalyze discussion on the struggles of diaspora and migration, elevating the reader’s understanding of one of today’s most pertinent issues. More
Intersectional Identity: A Reading List
This recommended reading list explores how Latinx, intersectional, and multicultural identity has influenced a range of genres. More
Expand Your Understanding: A Reading List
A recommended reading list compiled in anticipation of March's PEN Out Loud discussion with Layli Long Soldier and Claudia Rankine. More
Pushing Past Constraints: A Reading List
A reading list compiled in anticipation of February’s PEN Out Loud event with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and Isaac Fitzgerald to discuss Friday Black. More
Lest We Forget: A Reading List
In celebration of PEN Out Loud: Lest We Forget, a 2018 retrospective, PEN America and Strand Book Store have developed the following reading list. More
Visual Disobedience: A Reading List
In celebration of PEN Out Loud: Visual Disobedience, PEN America and Strand Book Store have developed the following reading list. More
Writing the Future: A Reading List
A young adult recommended reading list curated for PEN Out Loud: Writing the Future, presented by PEN America and the Strand Book Store. More
Dear America: A Reading List
A reading list for PEN Out Loud: Dear America, an event with Jose Antonio Vargas on the burden of undocumented immigrants’ mental health in America. More
Writing War: A Reading List
Molly Crabapple, co-author and illustrator of Marwan Hisham’s latest memoir, Brother of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian War and Alexis Okeowo, author of A Moonless Starless Sky: Ordinary Women and… More
Freedom, Power, and Rage: A Reading List
How can we channel our freedom, power, and rage to create change in the world? The following PEN America book list is an excellent place to start. More
The Opposite of Hate: A Reading List
We are living through one of the most divisive periods in American history, with hate-filled rhetoric fueling disagreements on a wide range of issues — from LGBTQ rights to immigration policy… More
Reimagining A Wrinkle In Time: A Reading List
Little girls in glasses have showed us how to save the world from darkness for years. The journeys they take as they come into their power showcase their everyday… More
PEN Out Loud with Jason Reynolds and Greg Pardlo: A Reading List
This February, join best-selling and multi-award winning author Jason Reynolds and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Greg Pardlo in conversation for the launch of the 2018 season of PEN Out Loud,… More
Reclaiming Our Time: A Reading List
A feminist reading list in celebration of next week's PEN Out Loud event: Reclaiming Our Time, a feminist retrospective featuring Carmen Maria Machado, Min Jin Lee, and Morgan Jerkins… More
Madness and Mania: A Reading List
PEN America and Strand Book Store present a reading list on "Madness and Mania" in celebration of tonight's PEN Out Loud event featuring an intimate poetry reading with sam… More
Boundaries and Borders: A Reading List
In celebration of PEN Out Loud: Boundaries and Borders, PEN America and the Strand Book Store created a comprehensive book list of Latinx authors who have impacted and shaped… More
I Write Banned Books: A Reading List
Banned Books Week is September 24–30, and as well as enthusiastically celebrating the banned books that have shaped us, we take this time to highlight the censorship that still… More
