Denouement
Catherine LaFleur was awarded the inaugural Bell Chevigny Prize for the 2023 Prison Writing Contest. Every year, hundreds of imprisoned people from around the country submit poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and… More
2023 Emerging Voices Fellows | The PEN Ten Interview
The 2023 Emerging Voices Fellows provide insight into their creative processes, how they’ve developed as writers, and what inspires their literary practice. More
Annabelle Ulaka | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
After completing a story, I show it to people who tell me what the words mean. These people are the readers. More
Sola Mahfouz & Malaina Kapoor | The PEN Ten Interview
In Afghanistan, laughter is as much a part of life as sorrow and pain. People crack jokes while hiding from bombs in basements, finding humor in their grim reality. More
Jo Saleska | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
Are not we all just fleshy, rebellious little sculptures that move about the world, evoke emotion, make impact? More
Patrick J. Zhou | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I’m a firm believer that to get less and fewer hollow answers, we need to ask better questions. Of ourselves and others. Be gracious and curious. More
Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki | The PEN Ten Interview
Your first big break up, the first loves of your life, are your friends. Those stories are really interesting, meaty stories. More
Faire Holliday | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I think many of the gray areas that we find ourselves in come from the disconnect between how we think we’re living and how we actually are. More
Clara Mundy | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I hope that readers consider the subtle ways that power can seep into a person’s life and manipulate their self-image: What parts of ourselves did we only feel ashamed… More
Sonia Feldman | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
Reading gives me the opportunity to think somebody else’s thoughts instead of my own. That’s what I hope my writing might offer to someone else, a respite from the… More