The PEN Ten: An Interview with Donna Barba Higuera
I know that if the book banning continues on its current path, my books will soon follow. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Laura Warrell
It can be excruciating to live with uncertainty and, by creating stories, we can make sense of the nonsensical. We can decide how to act. We can move forward. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Chen Chen
Art matters because it nourishes the heart. Like plums do. Like sunflowers. Like a good, long kiss in this brief, brief life. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with the 2022 Emerging Voices Fellows
Identity can serve as a type of complex shorthand. It gives us the power to declare ourselves to the world, but it can also flatten and politicize us in… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with James Hannaham
Don’t let a message get in the way of the truth, even when that truth is embarrassing, counterintuitive, or unpopular. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Eloisa Amezcua
I told my life story in a way that invites you, the reader, to see our commonality and take the journey with me as a fellow traveler through life. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Sholeh Wolpé
I told my life story in a way that invites you, the reader, to see our commonality and take the journey with me as a fellow traveler through life. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with t. jahan
We need stories to know ourselves. We also need stories to empathize. Stories are an accessible space to come to a place of true understanding. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Cleyvis Natera
These days, I write from a place of celebration and freedom I never imagined would be available to me until much later in my writing career. More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Tuhin Das
People assume that things get lost in translation, but translations give me literary freedom. Translations prove that words are not bound by any border or ideology or tyrant. More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
For months, a handful of books dealing with #LGBTQ themes have been targeted by #KansasCity area conservatives. But facing a new Missouri law, some schools have removed a wider array of books, including #SlaughterhouseFive, #Watchmen and #TheHandmaidsTale. https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/education/article266556371.html#storylink=cpy
Thrilled to see this important recognition of the deeply courageous work of activists from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, including @pen_belarus member Ales Bialiatski. #NobelPeacePrize2022 https://twitter.com/nobelprize/status/1578309539870318603
⚡️This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Belarus human rights activist, member of PEN Belarus Ales Bialiatski https://twitter.com/NobelPrize/status/1578309539870318603