The PEN Ten: An Interview with Katherine Seligman
“We need stories, and always have, to help us make sense of the world and the choices we face. . . We find ourselves in those stories.” More
What’s Prison Like?
“What? Tell me I’m lying. Fuck. I love sex, drugs, and rock & roll. It just hasn't worked out for me.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Mateo Askaripour
“The way I see it, if I allow someone to take away my freedom of expression even for a second, then I am agreeing to be enslaved, and there’s… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Robert Jones Jr.
“[Writing the book] showed me my limitations and forced me to grow. It showed me myself—with every flaw and every beauty—and encouraged me to confront all of it.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Nathaniel Popkin
“What we take the question to mean—what is a human life worth?—can be challenged and changed. For all life and lives are connected.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Deesha Philyaw
“Writers speak truth to power. Writers disrupt white supremacist narratives with truer, more just narratives. Tenderness, joy, humor, and imagination are among our weapons of resistance.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Emily Hashimoto
“What I brought with me into my own life-turn as a novelist was the importance of representation. . . I’m really proud to be a part of the wave… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Dolores Reyes, Translated by Maria Riillo
“I always try to find the music whichever way possible in what I’m writing.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Michelle Gallen
“The most important thing a writer can do is to live mindfully with curiosity and kindness, to participate in life, and to listen to—and observe—as many people as you… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kiese Laymon
“I’m shamefully inspired by the reality of death—earning death, as Baldwin phrased it. . . So, when I don’t want to write and read, I remind myself that we… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
Beatings, arrests, court cases, internet blocks and revocation of press credentials—being an accredited journalist is no longer a guarantee of protection for independent media in Belarus. https://bit.ly/3a7pcyT
Is a reconciliation with the Trump era possible? Can we reckon with the past while moving forward? Register now to hear from @mashagessen @ayadakhtar Jill Lepore @CharlesMBlow @Peggynoonannyc and Omar G. Encarnación. Moderated by @SuzanneNossel. https://bit.ly/3p2S9C7
Today the Raoul Wallenberg Centre and PEN America filed a complaint before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on behalf of detained Chinese couple Wang Zang and Wang Liqin. https://bit.ly/35WqT0H