The PEN Pod: Diving Beneath the Waves with Carmen Boullosa
“Books control, in such a way, their authors, that you only prepare the soil for them, work for them, so they can flourish or be.” More
Mayor De Blasio: Expand COVID19 relief funding to NYC’s literary arts community
We, members of the literary community in New York City, call on you to ensure writers and the literary arts organizations who support them are provided meaningful support. More
The PEN Pod: Looking Through Time with Rebecca Makkai
“Look at the ways that the American healthcare system, in times of crisis, exacerbates the fissures that are already there, the inequalities that are already there.” More
The PEN Pod: Tough Questions with Suzanne Nossel
“The power of disinformation online, we see, is enormous.” More
The PEN Pod: Literature as a Meditative COVID Companion with Lulu Miller
“The intensity of the moment is making ideas gurgle up and also just making reading and listening, when there is time, just so soothing.” More
Open Letter to Los Angeles City Council Members from Los Angeles Literary Arts Organizations and Allies
We write as Los Angeles-based literary arts organizations and allies supporting this city’s writers and literary professionals amid the COVID-19 epidemic. More
The PEN Pod: Tough Questions with Suzanne Nossel
“When you speak, you need to think through where your words are going to land. . . [and] who might. . . interpret them in a very different way.” More
The PEN Pod: Claiming Ourselves Through Language with Jose Antonio Vargas
“There’s an emerging narrative around what it means to claim ourselves as people. . . Writing, for me, as an undocumented person was the only place where I was… More
The PEN Pod: Letting Go of Our Illusions with Charles Yu
“This moment and what I think will be the aftermath of it for a long time, is to actually make very real what has felt real for a long… More
From Informed Responsibility To Dangerous Denial: COVID Responses in Eurasia
There have been striking differences in how certain countries in Eurasia have responded to COVID-19 with regard to freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy rights. More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
I find this is aging well as leaders toss around false & misleading info: a short 5-step guide we put out at @PENamerica on how political campaigns need to fight the spread of political disinformation as we head into the 2020 election. https://pen.org/five-ways-political-campaigns-combat-online-disinformation-2020/
A gap year fellowship @PENamerica for college students who don't want to do remote learning next semester(year?)
This is a brilliant idea, and I bet a really smart choice for some college students evaluating their options
Are other orgs doing this too?
https://pen.org/pen-america-gap-year-fellowship-program/?
Thanks to the 100+ writers, artists, advocates, and friends who've signed this statement calling for an end to anti-Asian bias and hatreds right now. More of this, please. https://twitter.com/PENamerica/status/1264813685261897728