The PEN Ten with Marlon James

"Writers do have a collective purpose, and that’s to write. I think we writers have managed to convince ourselves that that's not enough. Why is that? Writing can actually… More

The PEN Ten with John Murillo

"It was after the Rodney King verdicts were announced in April of 1992. I remember feeling simultaneously pleased and disappointed with myself that my first response was to want… More

The PEN Ten with Janet Peery

I would caution us to refrain from spending too much time in articulating [writers'] collective purpose for fear of leaching the blood out of the “uncontrollable mystery on the… More

The PEN Ten with Sarah Weinman

"I’ve said often that crime fiction in particular is an excellent vehicle for social commentary, because so much of what happens in society has some tie, or root,… More

The PEN Ten with Philip Metres

"I think we Americans have to flip the question and ask, in what ways are we ourselves in a condition of carceral submission, surveilled and made docile? How much… More

The PEN Ten with Chaya Babu

"I think the responsibility of the writer is to interrogate their reality and the reality of what they see and then write that. I do believe there is collective… More