Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Pod: Staying Connected Amidst Social Isolation with Andrew Solomon
“If you’re stuck in social isolation, there’s little that's better company than a really good book.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Paul Lisicky
“For me, writing is connected to my looking and curiosity. It isn’t a separate animal.” More
The PEN Pod: Breaking Down PEN America v. Trump with Nora Benavidez
“We’re all online all the time needing information, needing access to what reporters are telling us. They’re the frontlines right now, and we need their voices.” More
The PEN Pod: Remembering Terrence McNally with Jesse Green
“I think it taught him that he could do something in the theater that few people have an opportunity to do, which is to change people's minds forever.” More
The PEN Pod: Debunking Disinformation with Jane Lytvynenko
“Ultimately, it is all of us that are spreading this misinformation, and I think it’s really important to acknowledge that all of us are going to fall for it.” More
The PEN Pod: On the Importance of Hopeful Thinking and Magic with Chip Rolley
“Look at the program that we put together. Look at the writers who were there. Search out their books; their books can still be bought.” More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Diana Marie Delgado
“I think the best writing is where the writer makes the reader uncomfortable, maybe even worried. But the wish to take it back—never.” More
The PEN Pod: Practicing Social Solidarity with Alexander Chee
“We really do participate in these communities, and they do matter to us. They're part of our intellectual life, they’re part of our livelihoods, and they're part of how… More
The PEN Pod: Jennifer Finney Boylan Wants You to Protect Your Heart
“This is a good time to remember, now that we can't do it, just how important we are to each other and how important community is.” More
The PEN Pod: Four Questions with Suzanne Nossel
“There has been a politicization of the truth, a desire to whitewash and kind of varnish the truth to minimize the political impact of this pandemic.” More