Plus: Celebrating the freedoms that make writing possible

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Highlights from the 2021 PEN America Literary Gala ([link removed])
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The annual PEN America Literary Gala ([link removed]) is a highlight of the New York literary and social calendars, with hundreds of guests and an exceptional group of leading writers who sit among them as Literary Hosts. Every year, it is an inspiring, exhilarating, moving event; we promise an unforgettable evening, and it never falls short. The proceeds from this dinner are crucial to PEN America’s dynamic cultural programming and critical advocacy work on behalf of free expression. Watch the full program here ([link removed]) , browse photos ([link removed]) , and read remarks from our honorees and featured guests ([link removed]) , including our host Awkwafina, Jodie Foster, Wole Soyinka, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many more.
Reflections from Banned Books Week 2021 ([link removed])
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Across the United States, divisive book bans and censorious threats have taken hold in schools, academia, and the public square, particularly in regards to books that center racism, history, and diversity. This has raised questions: Who is allowed to be heard? Who decides? Amid these debates, PEN America celebrated Banned Books Week 2021 ([link removed]) last week with a slate of lively and vibrant events in our chapter cities across the country, in an effort to uplift the books, authors, teachers, and writers who insist on telling stories and examining history with truth, honesty, and complexity.

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Protecting the Freedom to Learn: A Banned Books Week Reading List ([link removed])

In this reading list, we’ve chosen to spotlight 10 of the 19 books slated for removal or suspension in the Leander Independent School District in Texas. Many of these books have been authored by women and people of color and discuss themes of racial discrimination, immigration, LGBTQ+ relationships, mental health, and sexual assault and violence. We hope you’ll take the time to check out these groundbreaking books ›› ([link removed])
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Carry Banned Books in This Tote ([link removed])

Buy a limited edition Banned Books Week tote bag today, and support PEN America’s continued work ([link removed]) advocating on behalf of authors, educators, and the freedom to learn.

PEN Out Loud: Fall 2021 ([link removed])
PEN Out Loud ([link removed]) focuses on amplifying diverse voices and convening vital conversations with authors, poets, journalists, artists, and activists. Earlier this week, we welcomed Wole Soyinka with Farah Jasmine Griffin ([link removed]) to the PEN Out Loud and LIVE from NYPL virtual stage for our first Fall 2021 PEN Out Loud event. There's still time for you to join us for our three remaining events!


** PEN Out Loud: Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny with Susan Choi ([link removed])
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** Tuesday 10/12 | 7pm ET
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Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and international award-winning author Louise Penny join PEN Out Loud to commemorate their co-written novel, State of Terror. Following a new presidential administration, the novel is a carefully woven political thriller with “incomparable insider expertise.” The bestselling authors will be joined in conversation with National Book Award-winning writer Susan Choi to discuss the novel’s inception, themes, and ideas. Learn more and register here ›› ([link removed])


** PEN Out Loud: Pamela Paul with Lauren Oyler ([link removed])
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** Tuesday 10/26 | 8pm ET
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Editor of The New York Times Book Review Pamela Paul joins PEN Out Loud to launch her essay collection, 100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet. In narratives about the pre-Internet age, the book offers “powerful insights into both the profound and the seemingly trivial things we’ve lost.” Paul will be in conversation with bestselling author and critic Lauren Oyler to discuss a fading era and provide “a guide to reclaiming just a little of the world IRL.” Learn more and register here ›› ([link removed])


** PEN Out Loud: Sandra Cisneros with Jaime Manrique ([link removed])
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** Wednesday 11/3 | 8pm ET
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PEN America Literary Award recipient Sandra Cisneros joins PEN Out Loud to celebrate her new book Martita, I Remember You / Martita, te recuerdo. In a dual language edition, translated by Liliana Valenzuela, the novella tells the story of friendship between three women who over the years are dispersed over three continents. Cisneros will be in conversation with novelist, poet, essayist, and translator Jaime Manrique to discuss the book and its “tribute to the life-changing power of youthful friendship.” Learn more and register here ›› ([link removed])

The PEN Ten ([link removed])

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The PEN Ten with Arnold Lehman: ([link removed]) “I do believe that American museums continue to present exhibitions and programs that approach and challenge the status quo.”

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The PEN Ten with Honorée Fanonne Jeffers: ([link removed]) “Nobody but you can decide that you’re a writer. So even if you get a teacher who you think doesn’t encourage you or doesn’t understand your talent—because memories can change over time—nobody ‘can stop your flow,’ as they used to say, back in the 1990s. You are born a writer: Keep that truth close as you move through this difficult world.”

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The PEN Ten with José Vadi: ([link removed]) “I think writing about my history and those histories I’ve inherited about my family from different family members has allowed me to embrace the missing gaps of the collective familiar timeline and accept the shards of memories for what they are. By embracing a mosaic and not a seamless line, it allows for ongoing ‘truths’ added as they reveal themselves over time.”
From Our Partners
TNR Salon Series & Strand Books present - Amitav Ghosh: The Nutmeg's Curse ([link removed])
Wednesday 10/20 | 7pm ET
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The New Republic literary editor Laura Marsh talks to Amitav Ghosh about his new book, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis. This event is part of TNR’s Salon Series, and will be hosted on Zoom. In this ambitious successor to The Great Derangement, acclaimed writer Amitav Ghosh finds the origins of our contemporary climate crisis in Western colonialism's violent exploitation of human life and the natural environment, tracing our contemporary planetary crisis back to the discovery of the New World and the sea route to the Indian Ocean, as well as the history of the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. Buy tickets now ›› ([link removed])
Congratulations to the Winners of the 2021 Narrative Prizes ([link removed])
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Tryphena L. Yeboah and Morgan Talty join a legacy of exceptional Narrative Prize winners that includes Gbenga Adesina, Paisley Rekdal, Ocean Vuong, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Anthony Marra, Natalie Diaz, Maud Newton, Saidiya Hartman, Min Jin Lee, and more. Learn more here ([link removed]) ›› ([link removed])
The Art of the Short Story: An Evening with Danielle Evans and Jocelyn Nicole Johnson ([link removed])
Thursday 10/14 | 6:30pm ET
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The Center for Black Literature will present a conversation and reading with authors Danielle Evans and Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, as part of the John Oliver Killens Reading Series. Johnson’s debut collection of short stories is My Monticello: Fiction. In the title story, Johnson tells of a diverse group of Charlottesville neighbors fleeing violent white supremacists. Evans brings her signature voice and insight to the subjects of race, grief, apology, and American history in The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories.
Learn more and register here ›› ([link removed])
Apply for One Story's 2022 Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship ([link removed])
Applications open till October 18
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Together with the Talve-Goodman Family, One Story is happy to open submissions for the Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship. This educational fellowship offers a year-long mentorship on the craft of fiction writing with One Story magazine. Our hope is to give a writer outside of the fold a significant boost in their career. Learn more and apply now ›› ([link removed])

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