Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Ten Interview with Author Alethea Black
"I think the biggest threat to free expression today is the use of social media (or media in general) to bully and intimidate voices of dissent." More
“What Matters is the Writing Itself”: A PEN Ten Interview with the 2018 Los Angeles Literary Award Winners
"Every step of the writing process is also a choice to include or exclude, and being aware of our own biases in making those choices seems necessary." More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with Jason Stanley, Author of How Fascism Works
"Truth is one of the core ideals of my discipline. In my writing, I don’t as much try to navigate it as attempt to faithfully adhere to it." More
“We’re All In the Resistance Now”: A PEN Ten Interview with Jeff Biggers
"I view “resistance” through a fairly broad lens, and ultimately as part of our American credo to fend off attacks on democracy." More
The PEN Ten: An Interview with 2018 Prison Writing Award Winner Matthew Mendoza
"My best writing is about moments of magical awareness. I refused to give voice to the monotony, the bullying and violence that make up prison life." More
The PEN Ten with Hannah Howard
"Truth is the starting point from which we can dig deeper and uncover more about our emotional lives and humanity. " More
The PEN Ten with Elizabeth Hawes
"While we cannot force people to absorb or connect with our words, we can write and know that we plant seeds and the garden will come." More
Romanian PEN Center: “We Are a Country of Poets”
"We also have many good poets; it is said that we are a country of poets. There is a proverb in Romania that says: All Romanians are born poets." More
The PEN Ten with Diana Marcum
"Freedom of expression . . . comes with a responsibility to speak out for the people who do not have that luxury and for any erosion of a writer’s… More
The PEN Ten with David Tomas Martinez
"As my work pulls directly from my life it is important for me to accurately balance who I’ve been, who I am, and who I want to become." More