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English PEN
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. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries. The President of English PEN is Margaret Busby, succeeding Philippe Sands in April 2023. The Director is Daniel Gorman. The Chair is Ruth Borthwick.
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. 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.
English PEN was founded in London by novelist Catherine Amy Dawson Scott in 1921, with John Galsworthy as president, and May Sinclair, Radclyffe Hall, Vera Brittain, Bertrand Russell, E. M. Forster, W. B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad and H. G. Wells as founding members.
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 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.
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. 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.
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." 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.
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English PEN
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. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries. The President of English PEN is Margaret Busby, succeeding Philippe Sands in April 2023. The Director is Daniel Gorman. The Chair is Ruth Borthwick.
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. 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.
English PEN was founded in London by novelist Catherine Amy Dawson Scott in 1921, with John Galsworthy as president, and May Sinclair, Radclyffe Hall, Vera Brittain, Bertrand Russell, E. M. Forster, W. B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad and H. G. Wells as founding members.
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 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.
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. 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.
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." 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.