This year, PEN America celebrates 100 years of defending and championing the freedom to write. In addition to celebrating our history, we'll be exploring the ways in which we can protect free expression in the years to come. Learn more about our Centenary Campaign, which will enable PEN America to address emerging and evolving threats to free expression and shape the future by fortifying robust protections for free speech and open discourse.
Georgia and Armenia have ancient cultures, histories, and languages that have survived under enormous pressure and despite violence from neighboring hegemonies. It is this common geography and shared history that make dialogue in the South Caucasus so crucial. Last week in Yerevan, Armenia, PEN America's Eurasia director Polina Sadovskaya facilitated the Burning Poet(s), a gathering of literary communities in Georgia and Armenia in order to speak out for peace, free speech, and social justice in the region. Read Polina's blog post recapping the experience ››
Don't forget to submit to the 2023 PEN America Literary Awards, which are open through August 1!This coming year, we will confer some $380,000 to writers and translators at all stages of their careers. We hope you'll help us spread the word and encourage the submission of your favorite books published in the 2022 calendar year. Learn more about submitting here ››
Saturday 6/25 | 6pm MT
Palabras Bilingual Bookstore
906 W Roosevelt St Phoenix, AZ 85007
Palabras Bilingual Bookstore, along with community partners PEN America Arizona and Abalone Mountain Press, are delighted to bring you a poetry event celebrating LGTBQ2S poets. Our talented, emerging Native poets are Jalen Charley, Kinsale Drake, Boderra Joe, Manny Loley, and Taté Walker. Learn more and register here ››
Saturday 7/23 | 12pm ET
Barnes & Noble – Fort Lauderdale
2051 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305
PEN America Miami/South Florida is proud to celebrate the launch of Andrew Holleran’s latest novel, The Kingdom of Sand. His first novel since 2006’s Grief, this book is “a poignant tale of desire and dread.” Join us as we welcome one of the most renowned authors of the post-Stonewall generation for a moderated discussion with PEN Across America Program Director William Johnson, followed by Q&A with the author and a book signing. Learn more and register here ››
The PEN Ten with Leila Mottley:“The best kind of stories are ones that give us information about ourselves, that can show us something about how we think or what kind of art we consume or who we’d like to be.”
The PEN Ten with Arinze Ifeakandu:“Language is an aspect of characterization, I think. We code-switch in order to feel safe or to communicate more effectively or to flex, or intimidate.”
From Our Partners
Register today for The Word’s second [margins.] conference, in-person for the first time in 2022 (with virtual programming)! The only conference of its kind, the [margins.] conference for writers, teachers, students, publishers, and literary artists from marginalized backgrounds takes place from August 5-7 at the McNichols Civic Center in Denver, CO, and features over 100 locally and nationally recognized speakers and performers.
![[margins] Conference + Festival](https://mcusercontent.com/0809b771ad9123934911c8d9b/images/7465c229-083b-b50c-5f4b-1171f41ebf79.png)
