Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
Sam Sax | The PEN Ten Interview
I think in that same way that every poem teaches you how to read it, every poem you make teaches you how to make it as you’re writing. More
Lisa Wartenberg | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I was interested in the stories young girls are told, and how wildly violent these can be –– reflecting, of course, the atrocities of the larger landscape. More
Verity McKay | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
A woman pushed to the brink by the pressures of every day life in the wake of carrying around an awful secret for far too long. The awful secret… More
2023 Emerging Voices Fellows | The PEN Ten Interview
The 2023 Emerging Voices Fellows provide insight into their creative processes, how they’ve developed as writers, and what inspires their literary practice. More
Annabelle Ulaka | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
After completing a story, I show it to people who tell me what the words mean. These people are the readers. More
Sola Mahfouz & Malaina Kapoor | The PEN Ten Interview
In Afghanistan, laughter is as much a part of life as sorrow and pain. People crack jokes while hiding from bombs in basements, finding humor in their grim reality. More
Jo Saleska | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
Are not we all just fleshy, rebellious little sculptures that move about the world, evoke emotion, make impact? More
Patrick J. Zhou | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I’m a firm believer that to get less and fewer hollow answers, we need to ask better questions. Of ourselves and others. Be gracious and curious. More
Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki | The PEN Ten Interview
Your first big break up, the first loves of your life, are your friends. Those stories are really interesting, meaty stories. More
Faire Holliday | 2023 PEN/Robert J. Dau Prize Winner
I think many of the gray areas that we find ourselves in come from the disconnect between how we think we’re living and how we actually are. More
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