A woman with curly dark hair, wearing a dark textured shirt, a silver necklace, and red lipstick, stands against a plain light background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

TC. Mann

Coordinator, Literary Programs and Emerging Voices

TC. Mann is a fiction writer and literary programmer whose work centers on creating opportunities for emerging writers and building dynamic literary communities. As Coordinator for Literary Programs and Emerging Voices at PEN America, she oversees the organization’s flagship fellowship and writing programs, managing program planning, public events, mentorship initiatives, and professional development opportunities for writers nationwide.

Her work spans literary curation, program development, event production, and community engagement, with a focus on connecting writers to the resources, networks, and audiences that help sustain creative careers. She has coordinated fellowships, workshops, festival programming, and public conversations featuring acclaimed authors, artists, and cultural leaders.

TC. earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University School of the Arts, where she was a Writing Chair’s Fellow and recipient of the De Alba Fellowship. She is also a recipient of a Skidmore Summer Writers Institute Scholarship and an Oral History Master of Arts (OHMA) Scholarship from Columbia University. Her fiction explores the lives, histories, and cultural traditions of Black women, particularly in her hometown of Somerville, New Jersey.


Articles by TC. Mann

A woman with long, wavy black hair wearing a green and black patterned top is shown next to the cover of the book How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair, featuring a hand holding scissors about to cut dreadlocks.
Writing as Craft
Thursday October 19

Safiya Sinclair | The PEN Ten Interview

For me, and for the women in my family, our stories are the way we preserve our history, our culture, and the vital parts of ourselves that our ancestors gave to us.

A woman with short curly hair, wearing an orange sweater and blue jeans, sits outdoors with greenery around her. Beside her is a partial book cover titled So We Can Know, featuring abstract text and soft colors.
Writing as Craft
Thursday June 29

The PEN Ten: An Interview with aracelis girmay

Finding a collection as urgent and needed as So We Can Know, edited by aracelis girmay, is nearly impossible. Gathered on the page are writers of color discussing and retelling…

A young man wearing a black leather jacket and hoodie stands outdoors in front of a graffiti-covered wall, looking to the side with a thoughtful expression. The sunlight casts a warm glow on his face.
Writing as Craft
Thursday April 27

The PEN Ten: An Interview with Tyriek White

It is why there is so much investment, politically and even historically, in the erasure of books by certain communities or voices. Writing about alternate paths forward can create new perspectives and ways we resist