FAQ

Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Our nationwide Membership includes more than 4,500 novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, and other writing professionals as well as devoted readers and supporters who join with them to carry out PEN America’s mission.

PEN America produces original research on pressing threats to free expression, including book bans, educational gag orders, online abuse, and disinformation; advocates for threatened writers and public policies that bolster freedom of speech worldwide; celebrates literature through awards, grants and fellowships, and public programming; and connects a community of authors, writers, and their allies through our Membership.

PEN America formed on April 19, 1922, in New York City and included among its founding Members writers such as Willa Cather, Eugene O’Neill, Robert Frost, Ellen Glasgow, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Benchley, and, as the first president, Booth Tarkington. PEN America’s launch followed by a year the founding of PEN International in London by Catherine Amy Dawson-Scott, a British poet, playwright, and peace activist who enlisted the novelist and playwright John Galsworthy as PEN International’s first president. The intent, in the wake of World War I, was to foster international literary fellowship among writers that would transcend national and ethnic divides. PEN America subscribes to the PEN International Charter. Read more about the history of PEN America.

Our name was conceived as an acronym: Poets, Essayists, Novelists (later broadened to Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists). Over time, as Membership expanded to include a more diverse range of people involved with words and freedom of expression, those categories no longer defined who could join. Today, the “PEN” in PEN America does not represent an acronym.

PEN International was founded in 1921 in direct response to the ethnic and national divisions that contributed to World War I. Founded in 1922, PEN America is the largest of more than 100 centers of PEN International. PEN America subscribes to the PEN International Charter.

Jennifer Finney Boylan became president of PEN America in December, 2023. Boylan is the bestselling author of 18 novels and the inaugural Anna Quindlen Writer-in-Residence at Barnard College. She succeeds Ayad Akhtar, who became president of PEN America in 2020 and remains on the board of trustees.

PEN America’s Board of Trustees comprises celebrated writers, artists, and leaders in the fields of publishing, media, technology, law, finance, human rights, and philanthropy.

You can sign up to receive updates on PEN America events and initiatives. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.Members of the press can contact Suzanne Trimel to join our press list and receive media alerts.

PEN America is a national organization headquartered in New York City. We also maintain offices in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Florida.

Unless otherwise noted, PEN America events are open to the public. PEN America Members receive discounts on ticketed programs, as well as invitations to certain Member-only events.

PEN America’s more than 4,500 Members live in every state. Our PEN Across America initiative, launched in 2018, responds to mounting threats to free expression with opportunities for Members and their allies to mobilize locally through public programming, campaigns, literary events, workshops, civic forums, and other projects that expand engagement with PEN America’s mission.

Many notable writers are past or present Members of PEN America. A small sampling includes Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edward Albee, Maya Angelou, Paul Auster, James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Teju Cole, Don DeLillo, E.L. Doctorow, Roxane Gay, Langston Hughes, Barbara Kingsolver, Norman Mailer, Thomas Mann, Arthur Miller, Marianne Moore, Toni Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lynn Nottage, Grace Paley, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, Richard Russo, Sam Shepard, Susan Sontag, John Steinbeck, Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler, Colson Whitehead, and many more.

PEN America welcomes and celebrates emerging writers whose voices are adding to the literary experience. Among those who have been recognized through PEN America’s Literary Awards or brought forward to new audiences at our public events are Hermione Hoby, Morgan Jerkins, Crystal Hana Kim, Alice Sola Kim, Lisa Ko, Layli Long Soldier, Carmen Maria Machado, Darnell L. Moore, Ottessa Moshfegh, Alexis Okeowo, Tommy Orange, Helen Oyeyemi, Tommy Pico, Jenny Zhang, and Ibi Zoboi.

Anyone who believes in free expression or enjoys literary events is welcome to join PEN America.

Many others from the literary professions are Members of PEN America, including publishers, editors, translators, screenwriters, and agents, along with important allies among dedicated readers, human rights advocates, civil society activists, and many more who share our dedication to protecting and celebrating free expression.

PEN America gratefully accepts tax-deductible donations online here. You can also send a check to:PEN America
Development Department
120 Broadway, 26th Floor North
New York, NY 10271

Please call the development department at 646-779-4825 for more information or to make a gift by phone. You can also email the department at [email protected].

Yes. PEN America is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Our Federal Tax ID number or Employer Identification Number (EIN) is 13-3447888. You can view PEN America’s latest IRS Form 990 here. When you make a contribution, 100 percent is tax deductible, unless otherwise noted.

A great way to support PEN America is by becoming a Member. Planned giving, gifts of stock or gifts in honor or memory of: please contact [email protected] or call 646-779-4825 for more information.

Matching Gifts: If your company has a matching gift program, you can double or in some cases triple your contribution. Please obtain a matching gift form from your personnel office or matching gift coordinator, fill it out, and send it to us.

Event Sponsorship: Corporations play an integral role in our annual PEN America Literary Gala in New York, please email [email protected] or call 646-779-4825.

Membership dues are 100 percent tax-deductible.

As a PEN America Member, you enjoy early access to PEN America programs and events like the PEN World Voices Festival. Save up to 50% on your favorite literary publications with our exclusive discounts. Be part of the PEN America community at member receptions like the annual New Year New Books party. Discover more perks and discounts on our Membership Benefits page.

Please encourage your friends to apply for Membership online or have them reach out to us directly at [email protected].

We adhere to confidentiality protocols and are unable to share contact information for any of our Members.

Please email [email protected] and [email protected] and our staff will identify the transaction and assist with processing your payment.

Please contact [email protected] with any concerns regarding website content. Please include a detailed description of the problem and a URL link to the page where it appears, if applicable.

PEN America offers confidential assistance to writers in the United States to address cases of acute financial emergency through the Writers’ Emergency Fund and other programs. Please visit the Writers’ Emergency Fund for more information.

No, this is not within our mission.

While most of PEN America’s grants and awards are for published works, the PEN/Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History, the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, the PEN/Phyllis Naylor Working Writer Fellowship, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund grants, and the PEN Grant for the English Translation of Italian Literature recognize unpublished manuscripts or works in progress.

Due to the large number of submissions, we cannot give individual feedback.

Unfortunately, PEN America does not offer legal services to its Members.

PEN America hosts advocacy events and workshops around the country, as well as online activism opportunities. Most activities are available to PEN America Members and the broader literary and advocacy communities.

Our PEN Across America initiative offers opportunities for Members and their allies to mobilize locally through public programming, campaigns, literary events, workshops, civic forums, and other projects that expand engagement with PEN America’s mission.