Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Pod: The Other Black Girl with Zakiya Dalila Harris
“I’d always wanted to be a writer before working in publishing. . . . I was also feeling fatigued as the only Black woman on my floor and in… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Kristen Arnett
“Knowing Florida so intimately means that I write about it like I would a family member. Something I can sometimes love and sometimes loathe, but at the end of… More
How COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation Uniquely Affects Communities of Color: A Conversation with Nora Benavidez
Misleading information, anti-vaccine propaganda, and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine continue to threaten public health. This interview unpacks those issues. More
The PEN Pod: The Russian Key with Jeri Laber
“The human rights movement now is facing more problems than ever, and it’s more necessary than ever before. We have serious human rights problems in the United States.” More
The PEN Pod: On the Arrest of Raman Pratasevich and Free Speech on Social Media
“This disturbing trend of reaching across borders to nab people that regimes see as a threat. . . [is] a new demonstration of how far these governments are willing… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Iván Monalisa Ojeda, Translated by Hannah Kauders
“You come here as an immigrant to a foreign country, far away from your family, but there’s one thing that reminds you of home—and that’s the language. Language unifies… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Keiichiro Hirano, Translated by Eli K.P. William
“When a novel has compelling prose, brims with soul-shaking turns of phrase, features characters more intriguing than real people . . . I feel sad to have to finish… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Brian Broome
“I’m trying to tell the truth every chance I get. Storytelling in front of an audience has become a big part of that.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Linda Rui Feng
“I don’t think it’s a novelist’s job, per se, to make history ‘fresh’ or ‘relevant,’ but if she does her job well, her characters will inevitably illuminate an aspect… More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Donika Kelly
“I don’t think of stories as being isolated works of intentional narrative construction—I think they are at the core of how we understand the concept of time and how… More