The PEN Ten: Banned Books Edition with Alex Gino
Writers both expose what is happening in society and give escape from it. We share reality and explore alternatives. More
The PEN Ten: Banned Books Edition with Juno Dawson
I see myself as a storyteller. I think it’s a universal language we all speak, and stories have the power to unite us as a race. More
The PEN Ten: Banned Books Edition with Meg Medina
It’s our job to name the human experience so that we don’t forget the ugly and the truly beautiful. It’s our job to write the stories that invite a… More
The PEN Ten: Banned Books Edition with Coe Booth
I think our responsibility is to tell the truth. We’re writing for discriminating readers who don’t want to read stories that water down their experiences or belittle the intensity… More
The PEN Ten: Banned Books Edition with Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
The only obsession I have is buying books. This doesn’t always include reading the books I buy. It’s just the buying that gives me a thrill. More
The PEN Ten with Sorayya Khan
I’ve always believed that writing is a political act, a way to explore injustice, a place to contemplate complicity, forgiveness, and the possibility of a better world. More
The PEN Ten with William Brewer
For me, at the atomic level, the obsession around which all my other obsessions orbit is seeing and making others see… More
The PEN Ten with Malka Older
Writers mirror their societies, reflecting back and interpreting what they see with enough distance and distortion for recognition and insights and evolution to occur. More
The PEN Ten with Sarah Schulman
The arresting officer testified that I said, 'Ladies should be able to choose.' I think that the idea of a woman's life being a human life was too complex. More
The PEN Ten with Garth Greenwell
A diverse and democratic society depends upon robust protections of free speech. Those protections require our vigilant commitment. More
