Publications
PEN America publishes original literature through the PEN America Best Debut Stories, the Prison Writing Awards Anthology, PEN America: A Journal for Writers and Readers, and the Glossolalia translation trilogy, all available for purchase below.
You can also read original literature from PEN America’s online publications and programs below.
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PEN Poetry Series • Prison Writing • The PEN Ten Interviews • Illustrated PEN
Prison Writing Awards Anthology
The 2018 Prison Writing Awards Anthology brings the winning works of the Prison Writing Awards together in a beautiful collection to share with the world. More
PEN America Best Debut Short Stories
This annual anthology features the winning works of the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize, recognizing writers with outstanding fiction debuts in print or online literary magazines. More
PEN America: A Journal for Writers and Readers
Published each spring, PEN America: A Journal for Writers and Readers publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, conversation, graphic narrative, and more. We champion international authors and provide first-hand insight into the… More
Glossolalia
Glossolalia is the translation magazine of PEN America. Glossolalia advocates for writers with limited access to the global reading community. By publishing works from lesser-translated languages, we connect storytellers to audiences… More
Read Original Literature from PEN America Publications and Programs
In addition to its printed publications, PEN America produces of a breadth interviews, poetry, graphic narratives, flash fictions, essays, translation, and book excerpts through its online series, literary awards, prison writing program, World Voices Festival, and other events throughout the year.
Jump to:
PEN Poetry Series • Prison Writing • The PEN Ten Interviews • Illustrated PEN
Kentucky’s Shameful Statistics
According to a report from the PEW Charitable Trusts’ Center on the States, Kentucky’s prison population increased in 2007 by 12%—nearly double the rate of any other state in… More
As the Creamed Beef Goes…
For those of you unfortunate enough to be unacquainted with this particular culinary delight, creamed beef is simply: browned ground beef, simmered in cream of mushroom soup, and served… More
Nature for the Nature Deprived
For those of us incarcerated persons who were avid outdoorsmen in our former lives, being locked-up is especially irksome. It’s not that I miss it; it is almost like… More
Runaway Justice
Just a few miles from the courthouse the two Durham County deputies stopped at a diner and bought me a hamburger and milkshake, and from there the four-hour ride… More
Voice of an Unheard Nation
On the eve of November 4, 2008, the entire world rejoiced in Barack Obama being elected the 44th President of the United States of America. The land of the… More
Inmate Jane Doe
If one is to believe all the reports that the media broadcast or prints, one would think that 99% of all offenders were male. With the exception of a… More
Left Behind
“Everybody lock up!” The guard barked over the intercom. “Get in your cells, now!” “Oh God, what now?” one of the girls asked, picking up her plastic bowl and gathering… More
Me and My Dreams, Part 1Me and My Dreams, Part 1
Saturday, December 22, 2007The night I got to Singapore my dreams occurred again. It had been a while since I had had these dreams while I was in Burma.I… More
Walla Walla IMU
The bread is moving. A small piece broken off of what was pushed through the narrow cuffport to me earlier that morning. A horde of tiny red ants have… More
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PEN America On 
"The two things I love most are novels and birds, and they’re both in trouble."
A profile of Jonathan Franzen. https://t.co/9socxJU4FP
False information and incendiary images on Facebook have contributed to more than a dozen recent killings in Nigeria. https://t.co/qAm5xTn18Z
Members of Migrant Justice filed a lawsuit claiming they were targeted by the Department of Homeland Security as part of a large-scale campaign to suppress immigration activism in the US. https://t.co/BOHM6rBEJ4