Winners’ Speeches from the 2019 Literary Awards Ceremony
Watch videos and read transcripts of the 2019 PEN America Literary Award winners' acceptance speeches. More
Jackie MacMullan at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
Jackie MacMullan was awarded the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Literary Awards Ceremony. Watch her speech and read the transcript. More
Jonah Mixon-Webster at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
Jonah Mixon-Webster was awarded the PEN/Osterweil Award for Poetry at the 2019 Awards Ceremony. Watch his speech and read the transcript. More
Kenneth Lonergan at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
Kenneth Lonergan was awarded the PEN/Mike Nichols Award at the 2019 Literary Awards Ceremony. Watch his speech and read the transcript below. More
Larissa FastHorse at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony
Larissa FastHorse was awarded the PEN/Laura Pels Award at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony. Watch her speech and read the transcript. More
PEN America President Jennifer Egan Calls for Justice for Jamal Khashoggi
We can best honor Jamal’s life, his work, and his ultimate sacrifice by insisting upon our right to speak the truth and by protecting those who speak it. More
Ai Weiwei: Why Do the Powerful Fear Poets?
Globally lauded artist and activist Ai Weiwei accepts PEN America’s Artistic Expression Award at their 2018 LitFest Gala. More
Barry Jenkins: “Thank You So Damn Much For Writing the Things You Write”
Barry Jenkins thanks writers for inspiring his work while accepting PEN America's Award for Screenplay Excellence at the 2018 LitFest Gala. More
“Language Lives Longer Than People”: Edna O’Brien at the 2018 Literary Awards Ceremony
"Writing isn’t elitist, it is the deepest thing we have. It is as essential to us as our breathing." More
A Conversation with Eisa Davis & Eisa Ulen.
"Born of the bloodfire of struggle for the people. I honor my child with your daughter’s name. May they both be strong forces of love and revolution."These are the… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
José Bello, a student, activist, and farmworker, has been held in Mesa Verde detention center in Bakersfield, California since May 14 after he recited a poem criticizing the immigration enforcement and detention practices of the United States.
https://t.co/6mxGD4DGAS
Jailed Uighur scholar and winner of the 2014 Freedom to Write Award Ilham Tohti has been serving a life sentence on separatism-related charges since 2014. His daughter continues to speak out and plead for her father's release: https://t.co/R5im1llEI0.
‘Police officers demanded to see my books’: @Elif_Safak on Turkey's war on free-speech: https://t.co/RzwaAY11aC via @guardian.