Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
“It is Our Duty to be the Voice of the Voiceless”: An Interview with Filmmaker Agnieszka Holland
"This is a moment when we cannot just lock ourselves in our comfort zone, in our bubble, and believe that we have to speak only on what concerns us." More
“I Use Fiction as a Way to Find Truth”: A PEN Ten Interview with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
"I think writers can continue to speak truth to power. I think writers can advocate for the most vulnerable and make their pain heard." More
A PEN Ten Interview with the 2018 Writing for Justice Fellows
"I walk a little more in my truth each day. But it wasn’t until I wrote it down that I truly started to understand my story as one of… More
On Magic, History, and Storytelling: The PEN Ten with S. A. Chakraborty
"I like being part of a long tradition of storytelling, whether that’s ancient tales shared around a campfire or modern podcasts." More
“Being a Writer is a Matter of Doing”: A PEN Ten Interview with Yoon Ha Lee
"It is through fiction we tell ourselves the emotional truths about life and living, from birth to death, from friendship and love to betrayal, from madness to mercy." More
A PEN Ten Interview with Author Susan Bernhard
"Facts are provable, truths are held, like beliefs. Perception is more interesting to me—how we see a set of facts through the lenses of individual experience." More
An Interview with Tatiana Yankelevich on Sakharov Prize Recipient Oleg Sentsov
Polina Kovaleva speaks to Tatiana Yankelevich on imprisoned writer and filmmaker Oleg Sentsov receiving this year's Sakharov Prize. More
A PEN Ten Interview with Poet Cynthia Manick
"It’s a writer’s job to take truth and empathy and stretch it every direction; to make sense of things that don’t make sense." More
On History, Self-Censorship, and Bravery: A PEN Ten Interview with Wayétu Moore
"I do recognize that the desire to resist stems from being socialized in a system that institutionally devalues my worth." More
“Whenever I Write, I’m Asserting That I Matter”: A PEN Ten Interview with Naima Coster
"Whenever I write, I’m asserting that I matter . . . I see that as resistance, even if it only changes what it’s like for me to be in… More