Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights.International Human Rights: PEN Teaching Guides English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries.PEN (Organization): An Inventory of its Records at the Harry Ransom Center The President of English PEN is Margaret Busby, succeeding Philippe Sands in April 2023.Page, Benedicte (5 January 2018), "Philippe Sands to take on English PEN Presidency", The Bookseller."Margaret Busby appointed President of English PEN", English PEN, 19 April 2023. The Director is Daniel Gorman.Chandler, Mark (27 March 2019), "Gorman made English PEN director as Byatt joins First Story", The Bookseller. The Chair is Ruth Borthwick.Board of Trustees - English PEN.
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."What we stand for" - English PEN. English PEN also hosts events and prizes to champion international literature, showcase the diversity of writing, and celebrate literary courage.Prizes | PEN Prizes - English PEN. 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.Translation | Writers in Translation - English PEN.
History
English PEN was founded by novelist Catherine Amy Dawson Scott in 1921. Its inaugural meeting, at which John Galsworthy was appointed president, was held at the Florence Restaurant in Soho on 5 October 1921. Forty-one writers, in addition to Catherine Dawson Scott and her daughter Marjorie, attended this Foundation Dinner, and all joined the club, becoming known as Foundation Members. They included Austin Harrison, F. Tennyson Jesse, May Sinclair and Rebecca West.
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."The PEN Story", PEN International", 9 June 2013, issuu. With an ever-growing number of members worldwide, it became necessary to establish some guiding principles for the organisation, and the first version of the PEN Charter principles 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, E. M. Forster, H. G. Wells, Vera Brittain, and Rebecca West."Appeal to the Conscience of the World," letter from PEN London Centre. June 1940. Harry Ransom Center.
Following 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.The history of English PEN - English PEN. PEN International gained advisory status to the United Nations and worked with UNESCO 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.PEN International | Writers and Free Expression
English PEN celebrated its centenary in 2021. "Common Currency", the title of the centenary events, is taken from the PEN Charter: "Literature knows no frontiers and must remain a common currency among people in spite of political or national upheavals.""English PEN Announce Centenary Programme", Writers and Free Expression, 2 October 2020. The centenary programme included 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.English PEN - Common Currency
In December 2021, having served as a trustee of English PEN since 2019, Ruth Borthwick was named as its chair, taking over the position from Maureen Freely, with Aki Schilz as vice-chair, taking over from Claire Armitstead.
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."P.E.N. Charter", from the 20th International PEN Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark. 1948. Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the PEN Charter was forged amidst the harsh realities of World War II.Harry Ransom Center (27 March 2017), "Writers without borders: The power of PEN", Ransom Center Magazine.
The Charter was amended at the 83rd PEN Congress in Lviv 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.""2017 Lviv: Reclaiming Truths in Times of Propaganda", PEN International.
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 English PEN membership is open to all who subscribe to the aims outlined in the PEN Charter.English PEN Introduces Concessionary Membership
Board of trustees
English PEN is governed by a board of trustees that is elected from and by members, and chaired by Ruth Borthwick, former chief executive and artistic director of the Arvon Foundation.
Current trustees include: Aki Schilz, Director of The Literary Consultancy Dan Miller, communications professional Shazea Quraishi, poet, playwright and translator Cathy Galvin, poet, journalist and editor Georgina Godwin, broadcast journalist Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at Southbank Centre Milena Büyüm, Senior Campaigner at Amnesty International Guy Gunaratne, journalist, filmmaker and novelist Can Yeğinsu, barrister and Deputy Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom Arifa Akbar, chief theatre critic for The Guardian Joanna Stocks
Past Presidents of English PEN
English PEN Centre presidents John Galsworthy 1921–32 H. G. Wells 1932–36 J. B. Priestley 1937 Henry W. Nevinson 1938 Margaret Storm Jameson 1939–44 Desmond MacCarthy 1945–50 Veronica Wedgwood 1951–57 Richard Church 1958 Alan Pryce-Jones 1959–61 Rosamond Lehmann 1962–66 L. P. Hartley 1967–70V. S. Pritchett 1971–75 Kathleen Nott 1975 Stephen Spender 1976–77Lettice Cooper 1977–78 Francis King 1979–85 Michael Holroyd 1986–87Antonia Fraser 1988–90 Ronald Harwood 1990–93 Josephine Pullein-Thompson 1994–97 Rachel Billington 1998–2000 Victoria Glendinning 2001–03 Alastair Niven 2003–07 Lisa Appignanesi 2008–10 Gillian Slovo 2010–13 Raficq Abdulla (acting president) 2013–14 Maureen Freely 2014–2018 Philippe Sands 2018–2023 Margaret Busby 2023–
Memorial
A cast-iron sculpture entitled Witness, commissioned by English PEN to mark their 90th anniversary and created by Antony Gormley, stands outside the British Library in London. 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, and the PEN Heaney Prize. Until 2023 it also ran 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".Hare, David, Unflinching, Unswerving - The PEN/Pinter Prize Lecture 2011
The prize is shared with an international writer of courage selected by the winner in association with English PEN's Writers at Risk programme.PEN Pinter Prize - English PEN.
Winners of the PEN Pinter Prize: Tony Harrison (2009),Flood, Allison (22 September 2009), "Tony Harrison wins inaugural PEN/Pinter prize", The Guardian. Hanif Kureishi (2010),"Hanif Kureishi wins Pinter literary prize", BBC News, 20 October 2010. Sir David Hare (2011),Baghdjian, Alice (26 August 2011), "Playwright David Hare scoops PEN/Pinter Prize", Reuters. Carol Ann Duffy (2012),"Carol Ann Duffy awarded Pen Pinter prize", BBC News, 13 July 2012. Tom Stoppard (2013),Sabur, Rozina (31 July 2013), "Tom Stoppard wins PEN/Pinter prize", The Telegraph. Salman Rushdie (2014),"Salman Rushdie wins 2014 PEN Pinter prize for outstanding literary achievement", The Independent, 20 June 2014. James Fenton (2015),"James Fenton: Pen Pinter prize winner reads Blood and Lead", BBC News, 23 June 2015. Margaret Atwood (2016),Flood, Allison (15 June 2017), "Margaret Atwood wins 2016 PEN Pinter prize", The Guardian. Michael Longley (2017),Kean, Danuta (1 June 2017), "Michael Longley wins PEN Pinter prize for 'unflinching, unswerving' poetry", The Guardian. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2018),Cowdrey, Katherine (12 June 2018), "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2018", The Bookseller. Lemn Sissay (2019),Press Association (2 June 2019), "Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay wins the PEN Pinter prize", The Guardian. Linton Kwesi Johnson (2020),Snow, Jon (12 October 2020), When we arrived here we wanted to become British, but because of racism we weren't allowed' – Linton Kwesi Johnson", Channel 4 News. Tsitsi Dangarembga (2021), Malorie Blackman (2022), Michael Rosen (2023), and Arundhati Roy (2024).