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July 9, 2026
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The Premier Early-Career Writers Fellowship Marks 30 Years...and 70+ Published Books
Over the past three decades, our program for early-career writers from communities historically underrepresented in publishing has supported 214 writers who have published more than 70 books , appeared in hundreds of literary journals and anthologies, earned more than 110 major literary awards and honors, and received fellowships and residencies from many of the country’s leading cultural institutions. Meet the 11 talented young writers selected for this year’s cohort.
Meet the fellows and mentors >> [[link removed]]
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‘A Silent Moratorium’
Jerusalem-based literary agent Deborah Harris represents dozens of leading voices of Israeli literature. Her agency typically sells five to 10 literary novels a year into the United States. Since Oct. 7, 2023, they have not sold a single one. In interviews with PEN America, more than 30 Israeli and Jewish writers and literary professionals spoke of rising hostility and exclusion.
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Navigating Tense Moments on Campus: A Webinar Series
Tue. July 14, Tue. July 21, Tue. July 28
Free
Online
This summer, PEN America is hosting a series of webinars for college staff and administrators on navigating tense moments on campus while upholding commitments to free speech and academic freedom. In these sessions, we’ll explore how institutions can practice accountability after free expression conflicts, respond to speech that causes harm, and meaningfully repair community trust.
July 14 - Reimagining Accountability on Campus [[link removed]]
July 21 - Where's the Line Between Free Speech and Hate? [[link removed]]
July 28 - Rebuilding Trust After Conflict [[link removed]]
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Online Screening of "Ask E. Jean": PEN Member Discount
Tues. July 14 | 7:00 PM ET
Online
PEN Members get an exclusive discount to this one-night-only virtual screening of the film, "Ask E. Jean." A live Q & A with the filmmaker Ivy Meeropol and Busy Philipps will follow the film. Use code PENAMERICA for $5 off ticket prices.
Get Tickets & Use Code PENAMERICA [[link removed]]
Not a Member? Join Today >> [[link removed]]
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Wed. July 22 | 6:00 PM ET
Free
Online
Calling all professional members of PEN America: We want to hear your experiences, questions, and ideas about safety.! In our 2025 survey of members, we heard that writers in the U.S. are increasingly concerned about safety, online and off, from harassment to threats and doxing. In response, we have been working to build an Author Safety program [[link removed]] . Join us for this member-only Town Hall where we will share information about the program and open the floor for your stories and questions.
Learn More [[link removed]]
Not a Member? Join Today >> [[link removed]]
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Member-Exclusive Book Club: Guatemalan Rhapsody
Tue. August 18 | 7 - 8:30 PM ET
Free
Online
The next member-exclusive book club pick is this year's PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize winner, Guatemalan Rhapsody by Jared Lemus . The judges’ citation about Guatemalan Rhapsody said, “Rare is the debut that arrives fully rendered and delivers a writer whose voice and talent promise even greater things to come.”
Members who RSVP will receive a suggested reading guide and weekly email check-ins. The culminating book club meeting on August 18 will feature a 30-minute Q&A with the author, followed by a moderated discussion for the book club members.
Member Registration >> [[link removed]]
Not a Member? Join Today >> [[link removed]]
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This week’s Member Spotlight features PEN America member Deb Olin Unferth , whose new novel Earth 7 [[link removed]] was hailed as “stellar and sweeping” by The New York Times Book Review. A slim book tackling big questions (is all matter conscious? will we tech ourselves into salvation, or out of existence?), Earth 7 is a poignant inquiry into death, mourning, and indefatigable life. [link removed] [[link removed]]
Earth 7 on Bookshop >> [[link removed]]
Interview with the author >> [[link removed]]
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Happy Birthday America!
At the 2026 PEN America Literary Gala, we caught up with some special guests on the red carpet to ask which book they would give the U.S. for its semiquincentennial birthday. (Why is everyone reading Moby Dick in 2026?)
Which books would you recommend to a nation on its 250th?
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Art Installation Reflects on Banned Words
A photographer’s outrage over the Trump administration’s 350+ banned words inspired the exhibit “Unspeakable: Getting the Word(s) Out” at a Rhode Island gallery.
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‘Organize to win the future you deserve’
PEN America spoke with Kaden Ouimet, a student organizer from American University, about the fight to defend his peers’ rights on campus and the advice he’d offer other organizers: “You are a part of a story, a chapter in a story of students who have had the power to take on systemic barriers and win.”
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The Weird, Special, Magical Brain
PEN America’s online book club for professional members kicked off with an engrossing discussion about neurologist Pria Anand’s The Mind Electric [[link removed]] , winner of the 2026 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. The nonfiction title interweaves case study, history, fable, and memoir to shed light on the strangeness and wonder of our brains.
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How To Write Political Fiction (Or Not)
As our political landscape undergoes rapid change, emerging writers may feel pressure to write about the complex problems of today’s world. Should they? At You Are A Writer, PEN America’s workshop series for early-career writers, authors Adelle Waldman , Kevin Nguyen , Justin Haynes , and Calvin Kasulke offered guidance on approaching politics in fiction.
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Two Writers On Russian Authoritarianism and Why the U.S. Isn’t There… Yet
For a member-exclusive event, PEN America brought together Russian-born writer Svetlana Satchkova and Sasha Vasilyuk, a writer who grew up in Russia and Ukraine. Together, they discussed ways their novels depict life under authoritarian regimes and their perspectives on the erosion of democracy in the United States.
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Recommended Reading
In PEN Ten interviews, Davin Malasarn discusses his debut novel The Outer Country , the complicated family dynamics within it, and the parts of the book that he drew from his own life. Robinne Lee talks about Crash Into Me , her first novel since her blockbuster debut The Idea of You , and her experience writing the kind of book she’s always wanted to read.
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Read Robinne Lee interview >> [[link removed]]
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“Tonight was my birthday / I wish I could have been there”
— Jailed poet Galal El-Behairy [[link removed]] on his ninth consecutive birthday spent in an Egyptian prison
Donate to PEN America [[link removed]]
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