PEN Out Loud focuses on amplifying diverse voices and convening vital conversations with authors, poets, journalists, artists, and activists. The conversations are designed to elevate topics and issues that are urgent, force us to reckon with difficult questions, and address the times we live in. 

 

Past Events

Ahmed Naji + Molly Crabapple | PEN Out Loud

PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write recipient Ahmed Naji joins PEN Out Loud to celebrate his new book, Rotten Evidence. In conversation with National Book Award longlisted author Molly Crabapple.

 More Information

PEN Out Loud: Alexandra Petri + Megan Amram

Humorist and Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri joins PEN Out Loud to celebrate the release of her satirical new book Alexandra Petri’s US History.

 More Information

PEN Out Loud: Mahogany L. Browne + Alyesha Wise

Poet, author, and literary organizer Mahogany L. Browne visits PEN America Los Angeles to share new poems exploring the experience of Black womanhood in America.

 More Information

PEN Out Loud: Jemele Hill with Sunny Hostin

Join PEN America for PEN Out Loud: Jemele Hill and Sunny Hostin, in discussion about Jemele's long-awaited memoir Uphill.

 More Information
Julissa Arce headshot and You Sound Like a White Girl book cover

PEN Out Loud: Julissa Arce with Aida Rodriguez

Bestselling author Julissa Arce joins PEN Out Loud to launch her new book, You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation.

 More Information
Ken Liu And Andrew Marantz

PEN Out Loud: Ken Liu with Andrew Marantz

Author and literary translator Ken Liu will discuss creating narratives of economics, the future of work, and technology in fictional works.

 More Information
Mitchell Jackson and Imani Perry

PEN Out Loud: Mitchell S. Jackson with Imani Perry

Following a reading, Mitchell S. Jackson will be joined in conversation with distinguished scholar Imani Perry to discuss his inspiration, the possibilities of the memoir as a genre, and…

 More Information
Saidiya Hartman and Leslie Jamison

PEN Out Loud: Saidiya Hartman with Leslie Jamison

Saidiya Hartman will be joined in conversation with bestselling author Leslie Jamison to read from her work, and to discuss her creative process, portrayals of Black women and girls,…

 More Information
PEN OUT LOUD: SALMAN RUSHDIE AND MARLON JAMES Image

PEN Out Loud: Salman Rushdie and Marlon James

Join authors Salman Rushdie and Marlon James at the Strand on September 4 as they discuss satirical commentary in our modern age of alternative facts.  

 More Information
PEN Out Loud participant headshots

PEN Out Loud: Lest We Forget

This December, join PEN America and the Strand Book Store as we embark on a retrospective of 2018 through the eyes of some of our most talented authors.

 More Information
Mira Jacob and Ken Krimstein headshots

PEN Out Loud: Visual Disobedience

This November, PEN America and the Strand Book Store present graphic novelists in conversation to discuss the ways they use art, cartoons, and statistics to contribute to national conversations…

 More Information
Pen Out Loud October speakers' headshots

PEN Out Loud: Writing the Future

This October, PEN America and the Strand Book Store present an unmissable panel of young adult authors who are inspiring our next generation of literary activists.

 More Information
PEN Out Loud September participants' headshots

PEN Out Loud: Dear America

This September, join PEN America in partnership with the Strand Book Store as we present Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas for the launch of his riveting and deeply…

 More Information
Headshots of Hannah Lillith Assadi, Hari Kunzru, Victor LaValle, and Nicole Sealey.

PEN Out Loud: The 2018 Literary Awards Salon

This June, PEN Literary Awards finalists Hari Kunzru, Victor LaValle, Nicole Sealey, and Hannah Lillith Assadi will join us to read from their work, and bring a glimpse of…

 More Information
Headshots of Molly Crabapple and Alexis Okeowo,

PEN Out Loud: Writing War

In May's PEN Out Loud event, Alexis Okeowo and Molly Crabapple help us ask and answer tough questions on the politics of turning conflict into story by showing us…

 More Information
Headshots of Dr. Brittney Cooper and Darnell L. Moore

PEN Out Loud: Freedom, Power, and Rage

This April, join Black feminist, academic, author, and co-founder of the Crunk Feminist Collective, Dr. Brittney Cooper, along with writer, activist, and editor Darnell L. Moore, as they break…

 More Information

PEN Out Loud: The Opposite of Hate

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. How do we begin to…

 More Information
Headshots of Alice Sola Kim, Léna Roy, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, and Ibi Zoboi

PEN Out Loud: Reimagining A Wrinkle in Time

To mark the release of Ava DuVernay’s bold new adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, we will celebrate unconventional literary heroes with readings from Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel and…

 More Information
Headshots of Min Jin Lee, Carmen Maria Machado, and Morgan Jerkins

PEN Out Loud: Reclaiming Our Time

PEN America and Strand Book Store present a feminist retrospective of the year, featuring Carmen Maria Machado, Min Jin Lee, and Morgan Jerkins.

 More Information
Headshots of Sam Sax and Jeanann Verlee

PEN Out Loud: Madness and Mania

An intimate poetry reading with award-winning authors sam sax and Jeanann Verlee, whose works navigate themes of mental health and the often obscured line between self-hate and self-love.

 More Information
Headshots of Idra Novey and Daniel José Older

PEN Out Loud: Boundaries and Borders

Authors Daniel José Older and Idra Novey join PEN America and Strand Book Store for a conversation on Latinx narratives and boundaries and borders in the current political climate.

 More Information
Headshot Collage of Banned Books writers

PEN Out Loud: I Write Banned Books

In celebration and defiance during Banned Books Week 2017, PEN America in partnership with Strand Books invites authors whose books have been banned or challenged because of their cover…

 More Information

Reading Lists

collage of book covers for the Diaspora and Migration reading list

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

collage of book covers for recommended reading list

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Rage Reading List Featured Image

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

Opposite Of Hate Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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

Reclaiming Our Time Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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 Reading List Featured Image

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