Jennifer Baker on Restorative Justice in Young Adult Fiction
Jennifer Baker, author of "Forgive Me Not," speaks with PEN America's "Works of Justice" podcast about how she wrote restorative justice into her young adult novel. More
2023 PEN America Prison Writing Contest Winners Announced
Robert Pollock, program manager for the Prison and Justice Writing program, said: “The extraordinary quality of the writing and their subject matter are evident in the judges’ choices. That… More
No Change in Sight
"The boy stood in the door between the living and dining rooms, silently watching the old man, who was for him at nine years, harder than he thought to… More
Twelve PEN America 2023 Emerging Voices Fellows Selected from Largest Applicant Pool Ever for Third Consecutive Year
Jared Jackson, director, Literary Programs and Emerging Voices, said: “This year’s amazing cohort of fellows explore issues and ideas including disability, acceptance, immigration, resistance, sex, gender, colonialism, industrialization, surveillance,… More
Character Development: A National Novel Writing Month Pep Talk
Writer William Myrl Smitherman writes a pep talk for incarcerated writers for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). More
PEN America Opens Submissions for 2023 Literary Awards
(NEW YORK)-- The literary and free expression organization PEN America today announced the opening of submissions and nominations for the 2023 PEN America Literary Awards. Submissions for book awards… More
The PEN Pod: Queering an Epic Tale with DREAMing Out Loud’s Arjun Dhawan
“In terms of migrant literature, the migrant voice, there’s something bubbling that needs to be said, that needs to be heard, that’s unbiased. A story that you’ve never heard.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Iván Monalisa Ojeda, Translated by Hannah Kauders
“You come here as an immigrant to a foreign country, far away from your family, but there’s one thing that reminds you of home—and that’s the language. Language unifies… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Keiichiro Hirano, Translated by Eli K.P. William
“When a novel has compelling prose, brims with soul-shaking turns of phrase, features characters more intriguing than real people . . . I feel sad to have to finish… More
Power to the People: A World Voices Festival Reading List
The books in this reading list push boundaries and challenge inherited narratives. We hope you’ll check out each of these titles and also join us for the virtual festival. More