PEN America at the 2019 Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference

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This summer, PEN America is proud to partner with the 2019 Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine, Texas.

Already in its 15th year, the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference is where aspiring and established storytellers, reporters, photographers, and narrative nonfiction writers from all walks of life learn, engage, and network with the nation’s best authors journalists, editors, educators, and agents through workshops, seminars, and keynotes. This year’s iteration titled Justice in America will explore and amplify how journalists cover issues of justice, race, politics, and fairness in everyday life. In the face of criticism and contempt, journalists endeavor to produce salient work while providing context, transparency, and fact-based truths.

PEN America will present panels and readings that tackle free expression and advocacy issues in the contemporary world as they affect the literary community, such as the media coverage of the current immigration debate and the state of political divisiveness in our country.

The events are open to all Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference attendees. To check out the full schedule, please click here.

When Should Journalists Become Activists
10:30AM to 11:30AM
07/20/2019
Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center
1800 State Highway 26, Grapevine, TX 76051

Award-winning journalist and author, Sonia Nazario has tackled some of this country’s most intractable problems—hunger, drug addiction, immigration—while winning some of the most prestigious journalism and book awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes. In partnership with the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, join us in this session as she shares an insightful analysis of covering the nation’s current immigration crisis and the precarious role journalism plays in telling this story.

Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution
2:00PM to 3:00PM
07/20/2019
Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center
1800 State Highway 26, Grapevine, TX 76051

Author Ben Fountain’s book Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution is a gripping story that explores the 2016 presidential election and how what happened is a harsh reflection of America’s troubled history steeped in political dividedness. In partnership with ABOTA (America Board of Trial Advocates), join us for a conversation led by Tom Huang, Assistant Managing Editor for Journalism Initiatives at The Dallas Morning News, to discuss how Fountain’s timely book fused history and the present day to paint a startling portrait of the state of our nation.