PEN to Paper: Hot Tips from Mona Simpson
Novelist Mona Simpson believes writing is a constant practice, and to help you nurture yours, she shares five tips, plenty of helpful anecdotes, and even some musical inspiration in… More
Just Press Play with Natalie Diaz
2018 MacArthur Foundation Fellow Natalie Diaz, author of the poetry collections When My Brother Was an Aztec and most recently, Postcolonial Love Poem, shares a playlist inviting us into her… More
Writers in Residence: “A Matter of Politics” – A Poem During Pride Month from Lolita Agamalova
Poet Lolita Agamalova shares her latest poem exploring love, relationships, and the politics of the body as a kind of modern queer performance art. More
These Truths: Navigating Truths with Ishmael Beah and Alexis Okeowo
Sierra Leonean-American author Ishmael Beah and The New Yorker staff writer Alexis Okeowo discuss how fiction can help us navigate some of the most unrelenting humanitarian crises of our age. More
PEN to Paper: Writing the Landscape with Janet Fitch
Janet Fitch, the best-selling author of White Oleander, reminds us why it is so important to create a world that readers can enter. More
Just Press Play with Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Maurice Carlos Ruffin, author of We Cast a Shadow, a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Open Book Award, shares a soundtrack to his life. More
PEN to Paper: The Discipline of the Haiku with Mark Nowak
Poet Mark Nowak shares a haiku exercise he developed for reckoning with the pandemic at the Worker Writers School, PEN America’s writing program for low-wage workers. More
These Truths: Prison & Justice Writing with Reginald Dwayne Betts
Poet Reginald Dwayne Betts discusses the writer’s role in deepening the American public’s understanding of mass incarceration with our Prison and Justice Writing Program. More
PEN to Paper: Writing Through Intuition with Ananda Naima González
Ananda Naima González helps us achieve total freedom from the conventions of literary expression through “asemic writing.” More
Just Press Play with Hari Kunzru
Hari Kunzru, 2018 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award finalist for his novel, White Tears, shares a playlist to facilitate meditative writing. More