Interviews & Features
PEN America produces a breadth of interviews and features throughout the year.
The PEN Ten with Lisa Ko
I said I wanted to be a writer, but only to myself—writers were not people who looked like me. More
The PEN Ten with Basma Abdel Aziz
I don’t accept the presence of censorship. I prefer to leave the final judgement to people when talking about writing. More
The M Word: Exclusive Interview with W. Kamau Bell
The fact that people are out there practicing their faith out loud in public, openly, and not hiding from it, to me that’s doing it the right way. More
The PEN Ten with Kristen Radtke
We owe a lot to one another as human beings, but I don't know if we can always apply that debt to our work without crushing the work entirely.… More
The PEN Ten with Amanda Johnston
The closer our writing stays to uncovering a truth, the better we can understand the questions and answers. If we fall short of that, we lose vital pieces of… More
The M Word Stories: Sara Abdelbarry
I am a young Muslim woman who doesn’t wear the hijab, and that notion is so unsettling for so many people. More
The PEN Ten with Kelly Forsythe
To consistently ask yourself “why” or “how” goes beyond the classroom and doesn’t belong to it exclusively; it is a tenet of critical thinking and literary exploration. More
The PEN Ten with Molly Crabapple
Be honest and brave and try to make the world a bit more beautiful, which is in no way the same as making it more pretty (though that is… More
The PEN Ten with Shani Mootoo
There are certain kinds of ideas and images that are hurtful, that I wish never existed, but censorship does not make them go away. It sends them underground. More
The PEN Ten with Garth Greenwell
A diverse and democratic society depends upon robust protections of free speech. Those protections require our vigilant commitment. More
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