Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first

non-governmental organisations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internatio ...

, a worldwide writers' association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries.PEN (Organization): An Inventory of its Records at the Harry Ransom Center
/ref> The current President of English PEN is

Philippe Sands Philippe Joseph Sands, KC (born 17 October 1960) is a British and French writer and lawyer a11 King's Bench Walkand Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. A specialist in ...

. The Director is Daniel Gorman. English PEN celebrates the diversity of literature and envisions a world with free expression and equity of opportunity for all by supporting writers at risk and campaigning for freedom of expression nationally and internationally. English PEN also hosts events and prizes to champion international literature, showcase the diversity of writing, and celebrate literary courage.Prizes - English PEN
/ref> By supporting literature in translation into English and developing opportunities for publishers, translators and translated voices, English PEN aims to encourage diversity in the literary landscape.

History

English PEN was founded in London by novelist

Catherine Amy Dawson Scott Catherine Amy Dawson Scott (August 1865 – 4 November 1934) was an English writer, playwright and poet. She is best known as a co-founder (in 1921) of International PEN, a worldwide association of writers. In her later years she became a kee ...

in 1921, with John Galsworthy as president, and

May Sinclair May Sinclair was the pseudonym of Mary Amelia St. Clair (24 August 1863 – 14 November 1946), a popular British writer who wrote about two dozen novels, short stories and poetry. She was an active suffragist, and member of the Woman Writers' S ...

Radclyffe Hall Marguerite Antonia Radclyffe Hall (12 August 1880 – 7 October 1943) was an English poet and author, best known for the novel ''The Well of Loneliness'', a groundbreaking work in lesbian literature. In adulthood, Hall often went by the name Jo ...

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stori ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, Joseph Conrad and H.G. Wells as founding members.PEN International , Writers and Free Expression
/ref> The acronym behind the P.E.N. Club, as it was then known, stood for: Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists. Dawson Scott envisioned a club that would connect writers worldwide to create a common meeting ground in every country for all writers. Dawson Scott's hopes of establishing an international network of writers were swiftly realised. Within three years, there were 19 PEN clubs around the world. The first meeting of what would become the annual PEN Congress was held in London in May 1923, and was attended by representatives from 11 countries. With an ever-growing number of members worldwide, it became necessary to establish some guiding principles for the organisation, and the first version of th
PEN Charter
was passed at the 1927 Congress in Brussels. In 1940, English PEN published its "Appeal to the Conscience of the World" letter, a plea for the protection of freedom of expression written by English PEN's first woman president, Storm Jameson, and co-signed by English writers including

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

, and

Rebecca West Dame Cicily Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 – 15 March 1983), known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books ...

."Appeal to the Conscience of the World," letter from PEN London Centre. June 1940
/ref> Following the World War II, English PEN played a significant role in the emerging discourse around human rights, and was the first organisation to frame freedom of expression as a necessary precondition to literary creation.

gained advisory status to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

and worked with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

on various initiatives. It continued to expand with new centres opening across the world, and continued to fight for the rights of imprisoned writers, writers in exile, and censored writers. English PEN celebrated its centenary in 2021. "Common Currency" – the title of these centenary events – is a title taken from the PEN Charter. The centenary programme includes events, residencies and workshops online and across the UK, culminating with a three-day festival of free thinking at London's Southbank Centre in September 2021.

The PEN Charter

The PEN Charter has guided PEN members for over 60 years, since it was approved at the 1948 PEN Congress in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Like the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...

, the PEN Charter was forged amidst the harsh realities of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Charter was amended at the 83rd PEN Congress in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

in 2017 for the first time since it was adopted 90 years earlier. The Assembly voted for a wider formulation, namely counteracting hate and not only based on race, class or nationality but also gender, religion and other categories of identity. Consequently, Article 3 of the Charter reads as follows: "PEN members should at all times use their impact for mutual understanding and respect between nations; they commit to do everything to dispel all types of hate and support the ideal of unified humanity living in peace."

Membership

English PEN is a membership organisation, with a community of more than 1,000 members including novelists, journalists, nonfiction writers, editors, poets, essayists, playwrights, publishers, translators, agents, human rights activists, and readers.PEN International - Our History
/ref> English PEN membership is open to all who subscribe to the aims outlined in the PEN Charter.

Board of Trustees

English PEN is governed by a board of trustees that is elected from and by members, and chaired by author, journalist, translator and academic

Maureen Freely Maureen Deidre Freely FRSL (born July 1952) is an American journalist, novelist, professor, and translator. She has worked on the Warwick Writing Programme since 1996. Biography Born in Neptune, New Jersey, she is the daughter of author John ...

.Board of Trustees - English PEN
/ref> Current trustees include: *

Claire Armitstead Claire Armitstead is a British journalist and author. She is Associate Editor (Culture) at ''The Guardian'', where she has worked since 1992. She is also a cultural commentator on literature and the arts, and makes appearances on radio and televi ...

, journalist and author * Philip Gwyn Jones, publisher *

Daniel Hahn Daniel Hahn (born 26 November 1973) is a British writer, editor and translator. He is the author of a number of works of non-fiction, including the history book ''The Tower Menagerie'', and one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide, a ser ...

OBE, writer, editor and translator * Dan Miller, communications professional * Shazea Quraishi, poet, playwright and translator * Samantha Schnee, translator and editor * Cathy Galvin, poet, journalist and editor * Ruth Borthwick, former Chief Executive of

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Cha ...

* Georgina Godwin, broadcast journalist * Francis Coles, corporate finance adviser * Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at Southbank Centre * Milena Büyüm, Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International *

Guy Gunaratne Guy Gunaratne (born 1984) is a British journalist, filmmaker and novelist. Gunaratne identifies as non-binary and uses he/they/them pronouns. In 2019 their first novel, ''In Our Mad and Furious City,'' won the Dylan Thomas Prize, the Jhalak Prize ...

, journalist, filmmaker and novelist *Can Yeginsu, barrister

Past Presidents of English PEN

Memorial

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

sculpture entitled ''Witness'', commissioned by English PEN to mark their 90th anniversary and created by Antony Gormley, stands outside the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It depicts an empty chair, and is inspired by the symbol used for thirty years by English PEN to represent imprisoned writers around the world. The memorial was unveiled on 13 December 2011.

Prizes

English PEN runs three annual awards – the PEN Pinter Prize, the PEN

Hessell-Tiltman Prize The Hessell-Tiltman History Prize is awarded to the best work of non-fiction of historical content covering a period up to and including World War II, and published in the year of the award. The books are to be of high literary merit, but not pr ...

, and the PEN/Ackerley Prize. Funded by and in honour of former PEN members and significant literary figures, these prizes recognise excellence in historical nonfiction, literary autobiography, and a courageous and unflinching approach to the written word.

PEN Pinter Prize

Established in 2009 in memory of Nobel Laureate playwright Harold Pinter, the PEN Pinter Prize is awarded annually to a writer from Britain, the Republic of Ireland, or the Commonwealth who, in the words of Harold Pinter's Nobel speech, casts an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon the world, and shows a "fierce intellectual determination ... to define the real truth of our lives and our societies". The prize is shared with an international writer of courage selected by the winner in association with English PEN's Writers at Risk programme. Past winners include

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

(2020),

Lemn Sissay Lemn Sissay FRSL (born 21 May 1967) is a British author and broadcaster. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, has been chancellor of the University of Manchester since 2015, and joined the Foundling Museum's board of trus ...

(2019),

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ( ; born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works include novels, short stories and nonfiction. She was described in ''The Times Literary Supplement'' as "the most prominent" of a "procession of criticall ...

(2018),

Michael Longley Michael Longley, (born 27 July 1939, Belfast, Northern Ireland), is an Anglo-Irish poet. Life and career One of twin boys, Michael Longley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to English parents, Longley was educated at the Royal Belfast A ...

(2017), Margaret Atwood (2016),

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(2015), Sir Salman Rushdie (2014),

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

(2013),

Carol Ann Duffy Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, resigning in 2019. She was the first ...

(2012), Sir David Hare (2011),

Hanif Kureishi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Early l ...

(2010), and

Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...

(2009) Past International Writers of Courage include Amanuel Asrat (2020),

Befeqadu Hailu Befeqadu Hailu Techanie also written as Befekadu Hailu Techane ( am, በፍቃዱ ኃይሉ; born 19 February 1980) is an Ethiopian writer, activist, and blogger. He is a member of the Zone 9 bloggers group that were arrested in April 2014 due to th ...

(2019), Waleed Abulkhair (2018), Mahvash Sabet (2017), Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury (Tutul) (2016),

Raif Badawi Raif bin Muhammad Badawi ( ar, رائف بن محمد بدوي, also transcribed Raef bin Mohammed Badawi; born 13 January 1984) is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, as well as the creator of the website ''Free Saudi Liberals''. Badawi wa ...

(2015),

Mazen Darwish Mazen Darwish ( ar, مازن درويش) is a Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate. He is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. News organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have described him ...

(2014),

Iryna Khalip Iryna Khalip (or Irina Khalip; be, Iрына Халiп, russian: Ирина Халип) (born November 12, 1967) is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of ''Novaya Gazeta'', known for her criticism of Belarusian Pres ...

(2013), Samar Yazbek (2012),

Roberto Saviano Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, essayist, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book '' Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic reali ...

(2011),

Lydia Cacho Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro (born 12 April 1963) is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and women's rights advocate", Cacho's repor ...

(2010), and

Zarganar Maung Thura "Zarganar" (also called Zaganar, my, ဇာဂနာ; also Zargana, ); born 27 January 1961) is a popular Burmese comedian, film actor, and a film director as well as a fierce critic and often political prisoner of the Burmese mili ...

- Maung Thura (2009).

PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize

The PEN

of £2,000 is awarded annually for a non-fiction book of specifically historical content. Past winners include

Anita Anand Anita Anand (born May 20, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as the minister of national defence since 2021. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as ...

's ''The Patient Assassin'' (2020),

Edward Wilson-Lee Edward Wilson-Lee is an English literature academic at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, and a specialist in the literature and the history of the book in the early modern period. Early life Wilson-Lee is the son of wildlife conser ...

's ''The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books'' (2019), S. A. Smith's ''Russia in Revolution'' (2018),

David Olusoga David Adetayo Olusoga (born January 1970) is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and film-maker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and contrib ...

's ''Black and British'' (2017), Nicholas Stargardt's ''The German War'' (2016), Jessie Child's ''God's Traitors'' (2015), David Reynolds' ''The Long Shadow'' (2014), Keith Lowe's ''Savage Continent'' (2013),

James Gleick James Gleick (; born August 1, 1954) is an American author and historian of science whose work has chronicled the cultural impact of modern technology. Recognized for his writing about complex subjects through the techniques of narrative nonficti ...

's ''The Information'' (2012),

Toby Wilkinson Toby Alexander Howard Wilkinson, (born 1969) is an English Egyptologist and academic. After studying Egyptology at the University of Cambridge, he was Lady Wallis Budge Research Fellow in Egyptology at Christ's College, Cambridge (1993 to 199 ...

's ''The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt'' (2011), Diarmaid MacCulloch's ''A History of Christianity'' (2010), Mark Thompson's ''The White War'' (2009),

Clair Wills Clair Wills, , is a British academic specialising in 20th-century British and Irish cultural history and literature. Since 2019, she has been King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Murray Ed ...

' ''That Neutral Island'' (2008),

Vic Gatrell Vic Gatrell (or V.A.C. Gatrell) is a British historian. He is a Life Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Life Born to working-class immigrant Londoners in South Africa, Gatrell went to state schools in Pietermaritzburg and Port Eliz ...

's ''City of Laughter'' (2007),

Bryan Ward Perkins Bryan Ward-Perkins is an archaeologist and historian of the later Roman Empire and early Middle Ages, with a particular focus on the transitional period between those two eras, an historical sub-field also known as Late Antiquity. Ward-Perkins i ...

' ''The Fall of Rome'' (2006),

Paul Fussell Paul Fussell Jr. (22 March 1924 – 23 May 2012) was an American cultural and literary historian, author and university professor. His writings cover a variety of topics, from scholarly works on eighteenth-century English literature to commenta ...

's ''The Boys' Crusade'' (2005), Richard Overy's ''The Dictators'' (2005),

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...

's ''Rubicon'' (2004),

Jenny Uglow Jennifer Sheila Uglow (, (accessed 5 February 2008).
(accessed 19 August 2022). born 1947) is an English biographer, hi ...

's ''The Lunar Men'' (2003), and

Margaret Macmillan Margaret Olwen MacMillan, (born 1943) is a Canadian historian and professor at the University of Oxford. She is former provost of Trinity College, Toronto, and professor of history at the University of Toronto and previously at Ryerson Univer ...

's ''Peacemakers'' (2002).

PEN/Ackerley Prize

The PEN/Ackerley Prize is awarded in J. R. Ackerley's memory for a literary autobiography of excellence. The prize is judged by the trustees of the J. R. Ackerley Trust.PEN Ackerley Prize
English PEN. Past winners include

Alison Light Alison Light, (born 4 August 1955) is a writer, critic and independent scholar. She is the author of five books to date. In 2020 ''A Radical Romance'', was awarded the Pen Ackerley prize, the only prize for memoir in the UK. ''Common People: ...

's ''A Radical Romance'' (2020),

Yrsa Daley-Ward Yrsa Daley-Ward (born 1989) is an English writer, model and actor.Yrsa Daley-Ward

's ''The Terrible'' (2019), Richard Beard's ''The Day That Went Missing'' (2018), Amy Liptrot's ''The Outrun'' (2017), Alice Jolly's ''Dead Babies and Seaside Towns'' (2016), Henry Marsh's ''Do No Harm'' (2015),

Sonali Deraniyagala Sonali Deraniyagala (born 1964) is a Sri Lankan memoirist and economist. She currently serves as a lecturer in Economics at the SOAS South Asia Institute. She considers Joan Didion and Michael Ondaatje her favourite literary heroes. Personal lif ...

's ''The Wave'' (2014),

Richard Holloway Richard Holloway FRSE (born 26 November 1933) is a Scottish writer, broadcaster and cleric. He was the Bishop of Edinburgh from 1986 to 2000 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1992 to 2000. Early life and education Born in Po ...

's ''Leaving Alexandria'' (2013),

Duncan Fallowell Duncan Fallowell (born 1948) is an English novelist, travel writer, memoirist, journalist and critic. Early life Fallowell was born on 26 September 1948 in London. His family later moved to Somerset and Essex before settling in Berkshire. While ...

's ''How To Disappear'' (2012),

Michael Frayn Michael Frayn, FRSL (; born 8 September 1933) is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce '' Noises Off'' and the dramas ''Copenhagen'' and ''Democracy''. His novels, such as '' Towards the End of the M ...

's ''My Father's Fortune'' (2011), Gabriel Weston's ''Direct Red'' (2010), Julia Blackburn's ''The Three of Us'' (2009), Miranda Seymour's ''In My Father's House'' (2008), Brian Thompson's ''Keeping Mum'' (2007),

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's ''Untold Stories'' (2006),

Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy (17 May 1933 – 16 July 2019) was a British author, known for biographies, including one of Alfred Kinsey, and books of social history on the British nanny and public school system. For his autobiography, ''Half an Arc ...

's ''Half an Arch'' (2005),

Bryan Magee Bryan Edgar Magee (; 12 April 1930 – 26 July 2019) was a British philosopher, broadcaster, politician and author, best known for bringing philosophy to a popular audience. Early life Born of working-class parents in Hoxton, London, in 1930, w ...

's ''Clouds of Glory'' (2004),

Jenny Diski Jenny Diski FRSL (née Simmonds; 8 July 1947 – 28 April 2016) was an English writer. She had a troubled childhood, but was taken in and mentored by the novelist Doris Lessing; she lived in Lessing's house for four years. Diski was educated a ...

's ''Stranger on a Train'' (2003), Michael Foss' ''Out of India'' (2002),

Lorna Sage Lorna Sage (13 January 1943 – 11 January 2001) was an English academic, literary critic and author, remembered especially for contributing to consideration of women's writing and for a memoir of her early life, '' Bad Blood'' (2000).ODNB entry ...

's ''Bad Blood'' (2001), Mark Frankland's ''Child Of My Time'' (2000),

Margaret Forster Margaret Forster (25 May 1938 – 8 February 2016) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, historian and critic, best known for the 1965 novel ''Georgy Girl'', made into a successful film of the same name, which inspired a hit song by T ...

's ''Precious Lives'' (1999), Katrin Fitzherbet's ''True To Both My Selves'' (1998),

Tim Lott Tim Lott (born 23 January 1956) is a British author. He worked as a music journalist and ran a magazine publishing business, launching '' Flexipop'' magazine in 1980 with ex-''Record Mirror'' journalist Barry Cain. Early life and education In ...

's ''The Scent of Dried Roses'' (1997),

Eric Lomax Eric Sutherland Lomax (30 May 1919 – 8 October 2012) was a British Army officer who was sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in 1942. He is most notable for his book, '' The Railway Man'', about his experiences before, during, and after Wor ...

's ''The Railway Man'' (1996),

Paul Vaughan Paul William Vaughan (24 October 1925 – 14 November 2014) was a British journalist, radio presenter (of art and science programmes) throughout the 1970s and 1990s, semi-professional jazz and classical musician and a narrator of many BBC Telev ...

's ''Something in Linoleum'' (1995), Blake Morrison's ''And When Did You Last See Your Father?'' (1994),

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...

' ''More Please'' (1993), John Osborne's ''Almost a Gentleman'' (1992), Paul Binding's ''St Martin's Ride'' (1991),

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

's ''Daddy, We Hardly Knew You'' (1990), John Healy's ''The Grass Arena'' (1989),

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

' ''Little Wilson and Big God'' (1988),

Diana Athill Diana Athill (21 December 1917 – 23 January 2019) was a British literary editor, novelist and memoirist who worked with some of the greatest writers of the 20th century at the London-based publishing company Andre Deutsch Ltd. Early life ...

''After a Funeral'' (1987),

Dan Jacobson Dan Jacobson (7 March 1929 – 12 June 2014) was a South African novelist, short story writer, critic and essayist of Lithuanian Jewish descent. Early life and career Dan Jacobson was born 7 March 1929, in Johannesburg, South Africa, where his p ...

's ''Time and Time Again'' (1986),

Angelica Garnett Angelica Vanessa Garnett (née Bell; 25 December 1918 – 4 May 2012), was a British writer, painter and artist. She was the author of the memoir ''Deceived with Kindness'' (1984), an account of her experience growing up at the heart of t ...

's ''Deceived with Kindness'' (1985),

Richard Cobb Richard Charles Cobb (20 May 1917 – 15 January 1996) was a British historian and essayist, and professor at the University of Oxford. He was the author of numerous influential works about the history of France, particularly the French R ...

's ''Still Life'' (1984), Kathleen Dayus' ''Her People'' (1982), Ted Walker's ''High Path'' (1983), and Edward Blishen's ''Shaky Relations'' (1982).

Writers at Risk

Founded in 1960, English PEN's Writers at Risk Programme (formerly the Writers in Prison Committee) is one of the world's longest running campaigns for freedom of expression. English PEN campaigns on behalf of writers, literary professionals, journalists, artists, cartoonists and musicians who are unjustly persecuted, harassed, imprisoned, and even murdered in violation of their right to freedom of expression.

Residency programme

English PEN's Writers in Residence programme aims to provide international writers facing persecution or censorship with a period of respite. Former residents include

Zehra Doğan Zehra Doğan (born 14 April 1989) is a Kurdish artist and journalist and author from Diyarbakır, Turkey. In 2017, she was sentenced to 2 years, 9 months and 22 days in prison for "terrorist propaganda" because of her news coverage, social media ...

and Nurcan Baysal.

Freedom of expression in the UK

Libel Reform

In 2009, English PEN and Index on Censorship ran a year-long Libel Inquiry. The phenomenon of

libel tourism Libel tourism is a term, first coined by Geoffrey Robertson, to describe forum shopping for libel suits. It particularly refers to the practice of pursuing a case in England and Wales, in preference to other jurisdictions, such as the United State ...

was chilling the work of investigative journalists around the world, and scientific debate was being stifled. The final report of the Inquiry, Free Speech Is Not For Sale, identified the central problems with the current libel system, and offered ideas for reform. This led to the launch of the Libel Reform Campaign with Sense About Science. The campaign secured the support of over 60,000 people and 60 prominent NGOs, Royal Colleges, and associations. A Defamation Bill was introduced by the coalition government in 2012 and the Defamation Act was given Royal Assent on 25 April 2013.

Lady Chatterley's Lover

In 2018, English PEN ran a successful crowdfunding campaign to keep the judge's trial copy of '' Lady Chatterley's Lover'' used in the 1960s landmark obscenity trial in the UK. It was finally acquired by the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 2019.

Translation

PEN Translates

The PEN Translates grant programme was launched in 2012 to encourage UK publishers to acquire more books from other languages. The award is supported by Arts Council England to help UK publishers to meet the costs of translating new works into English – while ensuring that translators are acknowledged and paid properly for their work. The programme has supported more than 250 books, in 53 languages, and awarded over £1,000,000 of funding. Titles supported by PEN Translates have featured on the last three International Booker Prize shortlists.

PEN Transmissions

PEN Transmissions is English PEN's online magazine for international and translated voices. It features interviews with and personal essays from established and emerging writers. Contributors include

Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suf ...

Tsitsi Dangarembga Tsitsi Dangarembga (born 4 February 1959) is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Her debut novel, '' Nervous Conditions'' (1988), which was the first to be published in English by a Black woman from Zimbabwe, was named by the BBC i ...

Priyamvada Gopal Priyamvada Gopal (born 1968) is an Indian-born academic, writer and public intellectual who is Professor of Postcolonial Studies in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge. Her primary teaching and research interests are in coloni ...

Olga Tokarczuk Olga Nawoja Tokarczuk (; born 29 January 1962) is a Polish writer, activist, and public intellectual. She is one of the most critically acclaimed and successful authors of her generation in Poland; in 2019, she was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize ...

Irenosen Okojie Irenosen Iseghohi Okojie FRSL is a Nigerian-born short story and novel writer working in London. Her stories incorporate speculative elements and also make use of her West African heritage. Her first novel, ''Butterfly Fish'' won a Betty Trask ...

, and

Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is a contemporary English artist, master potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or th ...

Outreach

English PEN's outreach programme, Readers & Writers, is for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, refugees and asylum seekers, and prisoners and young offenders. It offers vulnerable, often marginalised and unheard people the opportunity to express their voices by taking part in imaginative and transformative creative writing and reading projects. They also have the chance to explore world literature and free speech.

Brave New Voices

Thanks to funding from John Lyon's Charity and the Limbourne Trust, English PEN ran Brave New Voices 2.0, a three-year creative writing and translation project with young refugees and asylum seekers celebrating multilingualism and self-expression. In 2018, English PEN collaborated with the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

for the Brave New Voices programme, featuring more than 90 concerts over eight-weeks during the Proms.

Response to the Coronavirus pandemic

In March 2020, English PEN with the T. S. Eliot Foundation was among the founding partners of the "Authors' Emergency Fund". led by the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and ass ...

, along with the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, the Royal Literary Fund, and

Amazon UK Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. The fund was set up to support authors and booksellers affected financially as a result of the coronavirus outbreak with a £330,000 emergency fund to be distributed as small grants.

Controversy

Anthony Julius and Geraldine Proudler

In May 2018 '' Private Eye'' identified two lawyers who were members of English PEN's Board of Trustees but who, in the course of providing legal services to their clients, were accused of being in conflict with English PEN's primary aim to defend and promote freedom of expression. Anthony Julius is Deputy Chairman of

Mishcon de Reya Mishcon de Reya LLP is a British law firm with offices in London and Singapore. Founded in 1937, it employs more than 1200 people with over 600 lawyers. It is regarded as forming part of the " Silver Circle" of leading UK law firms. In March 2 ...

, a British law firm. The Maltese blogger

Daphne Caruana Galizia Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia (; 26 August 1964 – 16 October 2017) was a Maltese writer, journalist, blogger and anti-corruption activist, who reported on political events in Malta. In particular, she focused on investigative journalism, repor ...

was accused of libel by Mishcon de Reya "on the instruction of both Malta's prime minister and Henley & Partners", prior to her death in 2017. English PEN's public statement on 1 May 2018 about Caruana Galizia says:

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is also pursuing a libel case against Caruana Galizia's son Matthew Caruana Galizia. ''The Shift News'', an independent media outlet launched after Caruana Galizia's assassination which has pursued a number of her stories, is currently facing the threat of a financially crippling SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) from the Jersey-based firm Henley & Partners, who had taken legal proceedings against Daphne Caruana Galizia prior to her death. PEN is seriously concerned about the fact that senior government officials including Prime Minister Joseph Muscat are insisting on trying 34 libel cases against Daphne Caruana Galizia, which have now been assumed by her family. PEN believes that these proceedings are in direct reprisal for her work in investigating corruption within the current Maltese government.

Geraldine Proudler is a lawyer and partner at

Olswang Olswang was an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with additional offices in Reading, Brussels, Madrid, Paris, Singapore and, since 2011, Munich. It worked closely with a network of firms across eighty countries. ...

, a London-based law firm, where she is Head of the Reputation and Media Litigation practice. Proudler represented Pavel Karpov, a former Russian Interior Ministry officer, for a 2012 libel action in London against

Bill Browder William Felix Browder (born April 23, 1964) is an American-born British financier and political activist. He is the CEO and co-founder of Hermitage Capital Management, the investment advisor to the Hermitage Fund, which at one time was the lar ...

after Browder accused Karpov of involvement in the 2009 death of

Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (russian: Сергeй Леонидович Магнитский, ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Ukrainian-born Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian gover ...

. Karpov lost the case and was ordered to pay over £800,000 in costs. In 2016, Karpov was additionally sentenced to three months in prison for contempt of court for non-payment of costs. Over £660,000 of that amount remains unpaid. In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', journalist

Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author and political commentator. He was a columnist for '' The Observer'' and a blogger for '' The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left The Observer in 2022 and be ...

wrote:

I know Anthony Julius vaguely and Geraldine Proudler, one of the Olswang lawyers who went for Browder, was on the board of the Scott Trust that oversees the ''Guardian'' and ''Observer''. (She is now on the board of an English PEN that never seems to learn.) I'm sure that in private they love investigative journalism, freedom of thought and expression, democracy and the right to hold the powerful to account. Perhaps the firms to which they belong love money more.

Online harassment

On 5 October 2020, English PEN released a joint statement on online harassment (co-signed by 19 PEN centres, including PEN America, and PEN International), stating: "PEN stands firmly against both offline and online harassment" and "We support the right to hold and express strong views, provided that such expression does not undermine the internationally recognised human rights of others, incite hatred, nor engender the threat or use of violence."5 October 2020
"Joint PEN statement on online harassment"
English PEN. PEN also stated: "We are listening to and taking seriously those with experience of harassment and working with organisations to better support and protect individuals facing harassment. Additionally we will continue to put pressure on platforms to better protect and support users facing harassment." In the 9–22 October 2020 edition, '' Private Eye'' criticised English PEN for not speaking out in defence of

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

, after she faced online harassment following her comments about transgender people:

Thousands of Twitter users wish an author dead. Others send her rape-threats. ''Newsweek'' reports that burnings of her books are being shared on TikTok ... In 2013, Rowling gave English PEN, which defends freedom of speech, a ''Harry Potter'' first edition that was auctioned for £150,000. Last week, the ''Eye'' asked PEN repeatedly whether it defended her against the campaign of intimidation. All PEN would say was that it was "following the situation closely".

References

External links

Official English PEN website
{{Authority control International PEN centers Charities based in England Freedom of expression organizations Human rights organisations based in London Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington Organizations established in 1921 1921 establishments in England