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
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cynan Jones
“My ideas generally come from the landscape, then orbit each other in different states of readiness. When an idea finds form, it demands to be written.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Danielle Evans
“Characterization and narrative tension come from the tension between a character’s inner life and their exterior life, and I’m acutely aware—because being a Black woman compels me to pay… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Valzhyna Mort
“I write in English to make the Belarusian experience visible in it. . . [and] I write in Belarusian because, to put it briefly, it’s the most badass language… More