Speaking Silence
"As a Mexican-Filipino-East Indian teen, I felt most comfortable in silence—scribbling words into notebooks, hoping my classmates couldn’t see me." More
Stones Refused: A Cenacle in South Central
It’s important that we express our experience for our benefit and for the world’s. We learn through stories, we experience through stories, we are stories. More
The PEN Ten with Trifonia Melibea Obono
In this week's interview, translated by Lawrence Schimel, Kyle Dacuyan speaks to Trifonia Melibea Obono, a journalist and professor at the National University of Equatorial Guinea. More
What Am I?
"There’s no magic pill, no chemical formula, no hack, no listicle that can help you be a writer. If you want to be a writer—first, last, and always, you… More
The PEN Ten with Khadijah Queen
I wanted to say that my identity determines my opportunities to make a living, how much or little time I get to spend writing, and what I write about.… More
The PEN Ten with Luis Alberto Urrea
Writers are particularly dangerous...writing strikes the heart and mind so profoundly, in such a way that it can overturn prejudice or hidebound beliefs. More
The PEN Ten with Marcus Wicker
There will always be a special place in my heart for those of us who find ways to express our beliefs and life obsessions absent of politics and megaphones... More
The PEN Ten with Carmen Maria Machado
Government censorship is never acceptable. Private organizations have the right to dictate what sorts of ideas they want to host or sponsor, and should be held accountable for those… More
The PEN Ten with sam sax
I do have more to say about what a good writer is and ought to do, which I think carries many of the same qualities as a good person.… More
Alert Us
Are you an artist at risk or know someone who is?
PEN America On 
As @PENamerica our mission does not encompass immigration rights but we joined the fight against the Muslim Ban on grounds that it violated the 1st Amendment right to receive and impart ideas through international exchange. Proud the battle has been won. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/1/20/22235986/biden-trump-travel-muslim-ban
Congrats and thanks to @PressSec for modeling a respectful, candid and fact-based exchange with the media. An important early step in restoring respect for press freedom at home, and rebuilding US leadership on media freedom around the world. https://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/535110-watch-live-jen-psaki-holds-first-white-house-briefing-for-biden
Congratulations to all of our 2021 grant winners! PEN America's grants are juried by panels of esteemed, award-winning writers, editors, translators, and critics. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/2LTPJr0.