PEN America

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PEN America

Formation	1922; 102 years ago (1922)
Type	Literary society, human rights organization[1]
Legal status	Nonprofit organization
Purpose	Publication, advocacy, literary awards[1]
Headquarters	New York, New York, US
Location	New York City, U.S.
Coordinates	40°43′30″N 73°59′50″W / 40.724920°N 73.997163°W / 40.724920; -73.997163
Membership	Private
Official language	English
CEO	Suzanne Nossel
President	Jennifer Finney Boylan[2]
Key people	Board of Trustees[1]
Parent organization	PEN International
Affiliations	International Freedom of Expression Exchange
Website	pen.org

PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922,^[3] and headquartered in New York City, is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide through the advancement of literature and human rights. PEN America is the largest of the more than 100 PEN centers worldwide that together compose PEN International.^[1] PEN America has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and since late 2023 also in Florida.^[4]

PEN America's advocacy includes work on educational censorship,^[5] press freedom and the safety of writers, campus free speech, online harassment, artistic freedom, and support to regions of the world with challenges to freedom of expression.^[6] PEN America also campaigns for individual writers and journalists who have been imprisoned or come under threat for their work and annually presents the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.^[7]

PEN America hosts public programming and events on literature and human rights, including the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature and the annual PEN America Literary Awards, sometimes referred to as the "Oscars of Books."^[8][9] PEN America also works to amplify underrepresented voices, including emerging authors and writers who are undocumented, incarcerated,^[10] or face obstacles in reaching audiences.^[11]

The organization's name was conceived as an acronym: Poets, Essayists, Novelists (later broadened to Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists). As membership expanded to include a more diverse range of people involved in literature and freedom of expression, the name ceased to be an acronym in the United States.^[1]

PEN America celebrated its centenary in 2022 with an event featuring authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Margaret Atwood, Jennifer Finney Boylan, and Dave Eggers; an exhibition at the New York Historical Society;^[12] and a large light-projection by the artist Jenny Holzer at the Rockefeller Center.^[13][14]