Who we are
100 years of celebrating literature and protecting freedom of expression
PEN International was founded in London, UK, in 1921, simply as PEN. Today it operates across five continents in over 90 countries, with 130 Centres supporting unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations.
Photo: Roberk Brooks
Literature knows no frontiers…
PEN International is guided by the ideals of the PEN Charter, which expresses every member’s commitment to protecting the free exchange of ideas, and promoting the value of literature.
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The PEN Charter affirms that:
Literature knows no frontiers and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheavals.
In all circumstances, and particularly in time of war, works of art, the patrimony of humanity at large, should be left untouched by national or political passion.
Members of PEN should at all times use what influence they have in favour of good understanding and mutual respect between nations and people; they pledge themselves to do their utmost to dispel all hatreds and to champion the ideal of one humanity living in peace and equality in one world.
PEN stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations, and members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression in the country and community to which they belong, as well as throughout the world wherever this is possible. PEN declares for a free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of peace. It believes that the necessary advance of the world towards a more highly organised political and economic order renders a free criticism of governments, administrations and institutions imperative. And since freedom implies voluntary restraint, members pledge themselves to oppose such evils of a free press as mendacious publication, deliberate falsehood and distortion of facts for political and personal ends.
The Charter of PEN International has guided, unified and inspired its members for over 70 years. It was approved at the 1948 PEN Congress in Copenhagen.
Board
The board of PEN International is elected by PEN Centres. Board members come from across the globe and share a belief that our organisation can make a vital contribution to literature and freedom of expression. They are responsible for the governance and strategic direction of PEN.
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Burhan Sonmez
International President
Burhan Sonmez is an award winning Kurdish novelist and lawyer from Turkey. He was re-elected President of PEN International on the 27th of September 2024, during PEN International’s Annual Congress.
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Arne Svingen
International Secretary
Arne Svingen is a Norwegian writer and a member of PEN Norway. Known for his extensive work in children's literature. He was elected as International Secretary on the 27th September 2024, during PEN International's Annual Congress.
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Eric Lax
Treasurer
Eric Lax has written on a wide range of topics, from movies and their makers to science, the history of medicine, and faith. His books include New York Times and international bestsellers and Notable Books of the Year.
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Tanja Tuma
Vice Chair of the Board
Tanja Tuma, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, is the President of PEN Slovenia and former interim International Secretary of PEN International. She worked in publishing and bookselling for 20 years, partly in her own publishing company, before starting her literary career.
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Ege Dündar
Board Member
The youngest board member ever elected, Ege Dündar is a writer and activist. He founded İlkyaz for young writers, Creative Witnesses, and is reviving the Tomorrow Club for writers under 35. His debut book, All These Things Aren’t Really Lost is now out.
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Beatrice Lamwaka
Board Member
Beatrice Lamwaka writes for Global Press Journal, an international media organization that produces award-winning journalism. She is the President, PEN Uganda and has facilitated creative writing workshops in prisons in Uganda.
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Elisha July
Board Member
Elisha July is current PEN Zimbabwe President , an administrator by profession. He has written 12 books to date on Accounting, Commerce, Entrepreneurship and Children's books. He has several local literature awards. He has been instrumental in running several Civil Society Projects in Zimbabwe.
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Gabriel Seisdedos
Board Member
Gabriel Seisdedos was elected Board Member of PEN International during the 87th PEN International Congress. Born in Buenos Aires in 1963, he is a translator and writer. His latest book, La responsabilidad de la palabra. Nacimiento y apogeo, is coming soon.
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Salil Tripathi
Board Member
Salil Tripathi was the Chair of the Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International, 2015-2021. Salil is an award-winning journalist and writer. He has been a foreign correspondent in Singapore and Hong Kong and now lives in New York.
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Kim Echlin
Board Member
Kim Echlin is an award winning novelist and essayist from Canada. Her fiction has been translated into 20 languages and her writing engages with themes of human rights, international
law and language. She is a long time educator and mentor.
Vice Presidents
Svetlana Alexievich
Margaret Atwood
Niels E. Barford
Terry Carlbom
J. M. Coetzee
Sook-Hee Chun
Lucina Kathmann
Kata Kulavkova
Eric Lax
Joanne Leedom-Ackermann
Jens Lohmann
Predrag Matvejevic
Perumal Murugan
Elisabeth Nordgren
Boris A. Novak
William Nygaard
Vida Ognjenovic
Orhan Pamuk
Elena Poniatowska
Nayantara Sahgal
Michael Scammell
Eugene Schoulgin
Hori Takeaki
Franca Tiberto
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Carles Torner
Presidents Emeritus
Homero Aridjis, Jennifer Clement, Mario Vargas Llosa, John Ralston Saul, Per Wästberg
Patrons and partners
PEN International's commitment to the promotion of literature and fight for freedom of expression would not be possible without our patrons and partners. We are grateful for their solidarity and support.
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The generous support of all our Patrons is crucial in helping us to protect persecuted writers and their dependents, to respond quickly in emergencies, and to challenge threats to freedom of expression.
Please contact us here to discuss becoming a PEN partner or member of one of our Patrons Circles.
President’s Circle
Hachette Livre
Eric Lax and Karen Sulzberger
Penguin Random HouseAtlas Folio Patrons
Anonymous Donor
Folio Patrons
Anne and Michael Golden
Moomin Characters Oy Ltd
C.H. BeckQuarto Patrons
Yann Martel
Octavo Patrons
Jeremy Mogford & ‘The Oxford Collection’
Special Mentions
Isabel Allende
Margaret Atwood
David Lagercrantz
Orhan Pamuk -
Hanan Al-Shaykh
Mona Arshi
Margaret Atwood
Hanan Awwad
Catherine Banner
Andrea Barnet
Simon Beckett
Louis de Bernières
Gloria Browne-Marshall
Carolyn Cohagan
Anthony Doerr
Gwen Edelman
Carleton Eastlake
David Francis
Gina Frangello
Rita Gabis
Joan Gelfand
Nina George
Arthur Golden
Lauren Groff
Viv Groskop
Hakan Günday
Jane Hirshfield
Laura Hubber
Debra Jo Immergut
Karl Ove Knausgaard
David Lagercrantz
Eric Lax
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
M. G. Lord
Geert Mak
Yann Martel
Marisa Matarazzo
Vida Ognjenović
Sir Ben Okri
Sofi Oksanen
John Ralston Saul
Sir Ian Rankin
Petra Reski
Bernhard Schlink
Mikhail Shishkin
Lemn Sissay OBE
Jane Smiley
Burhan Sonmez
Frances Spurrier
Colm Tóibín
Ayelet Waldman
Jess Walter
Jamie Wolf
Klaus-Peter Wolf
Yosef Wosk
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Albert Bonniers Förlag
C.H. Beck
Finnish Book Publishers Association
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli
Guernica Editions
Hachette Livre
HarperCollins International
Libella Group of Publishers
Luchterhand Verlag
Mareverlag
Natur & Kultur
Norstedts Förlagsgrupp
Judith Gurewich and Other Press LLC
Penguin Random House
Simon & Schuster
Suhrkamp Verlag
Thames & Hudson
Veen Bosch & Keuning Uitgeversgroep
Yapi Kredi Culture Arts and Publishing
Patrons of the PEN International Publishers Circle believe that literature and freedom of expression are at the heart of a strong, vibrant society. They support PEN International’s work to help silenced, unheard and unknown voices reach readers and writers everywhere.
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We are grateful to all our supporters and partners for helping us protect writers and defend freedom of expression:
UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Our Staff
Our diverse and dedicated staff co-ordinate PEN International’s work from our headquarters in London, through research, advocacy, campaigns and other activities. Our team works with the board, as well as with 147 PEN Centres, national and regional hubs that carry out our work in over 90 countries.
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Romana Cacchioli
Executive Director
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Emmanuel Asamoah
Finance, HR and Admin Director and Company Secretary
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Pavlo Bilyk
Events & Data Officer
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Sandra Zabala
HR Officer
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Sabrina Bravi
Congress and Events Officer
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Aurélia Dondo
Head of Europe Region
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Sabrina Tucci
Communications and Campaigns Manager
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Sandrine Fameni
Finance and Administration Officer
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Ross Holder
Head of Asia/ Pacific Region
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Paul Julien
Head of Development
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Bo Borthwick
Senior Digital Officer
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Salwa Mohamed
Finance and Administration Officer
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Nduko o’Matigere
Head of Africa Region
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Paminder Parbha
Head of Programmes
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Alicia Quinones
Head of Americas Region
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Mina Thabet
Head of Middle East and North Africa Region
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Portia Vanderplank-Jones
Executive and Programmes Officer
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Omnia Farrag Othman
MENA Region Researcher
Committees
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The Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee promote the right of all languages to be written, read and heard, whether they are spoken by millions of people or just by a few. Through projects, events, publishing and campaigning, the Committee encourages readers and writers to explore writing from cultures other than their own.
Founded in Stockholm in 1978, the Committee played a leading role in creating the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights, 1996. It adopted the Girona Manifesto for Linguistic Rights, a ten-point document designed to defend linguistic diversity around the world, which expresses the goals of the Universal Declaration as well as the aims of the Committee.
The current Chair of the Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee is Urtzi Urrutikoetxea, who is also Chair of Basque PEN / Euskal PENeko burua. Urtzi Urrutikoetxea can be contacted at [email protected]
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The Writers for Peace Committee aims to foster dialogue between writers and communities from countries facing international conflicts or being affected by them. It was created in 1984 to build collaboration between writers across the Cold War East–West divide.
The Committee meets once a year, usually in May, in Bled, Slovenia, for its annual conference. PEN writers from around the world come together to propose new ideas and discuss issues around conflict, peace, and freedom of expression. The latest Committee meeting was held from May 16th to 18th, 2023.
The current Chair of the Writers for Peace Committee is Germán Rojas, who can be contacted at [email protected]. The Chair is assisted by an Advisory Board composed of representatives from the following PEN Centres: Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Germany, Independent Chinese, Kenya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Quechua, San Miguel de Allende, Slovenia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Wales.
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Established in 1960, the Writers in Prison Committee stands against worldwide attempts to silence voices of dissent. The Committee defends writers and journalists who are imprisoned or under attack for their work or their political activities, provided that they did not use or advocate violence or racial hatred. The Committee also meets to discuss structural barriers to freedom of expression and campaigns on issues such as blasphemy or, religious defamation, impunity and criminal defamation, surveillance and digital rights.
The current Chair of the Writers in Prison is Ma Thida. Ma Thida can be contacted at d[email protected].
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The Women Writers’ Committee works to improve the situation of women across the world, especially women writers.
Set up in 1991, the Committee reaches out to both aspiring and established women writers through PEN Centres and other organisations and networks. It works with the Writers in Prison Committee to help incarcerated or endangered women writers.
The Committee attends meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and runs projects and activities, including literary prizes, book fairs and international conferences, centring the challenges faced by women writers around the world.
The current Chair of the Women Writers’ Committee is Judyth Hill and can be contacted at: [email protected]
Annual Congress
The annual PEN Congress offers an opportunity for the entire PEN community to gather and speak about our work, strategize and adopt policy positions, exchange experiences and ideas, celebrate writing in all its forms, and simply catch up with old and new friends and colleagues.
Each Congress is hosted by a PEN Centre, and is given a thematic focus, reflecting current global issues. Each congress is accompanied by Resolutions.
The 90th PEN International Congress will take place in Oxford, UK, 23–28 September 2024.
For further information please contact Sabrina Bravi, Congress and Events Officer, at [email protected] .
Governance
PEN International is a registered charity in England and Wales, governed by an Executive Board with representatives from across our PEN Centres. We are committed to being accountable and transparent to our members, supporters, partners and the communities we work with across the globe.
To find out more about our work, explore our strategic plan, annual reports and operation policies which are available to download below.
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You can view our reports here.
We would like to hear from you. If you have feedback, please contact us at [email protected]
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PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31st December 2023
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31st December 2022
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31st December 2021
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31st December 2020
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2019
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2018
Pen International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2017
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2016
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2015
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2014
PEN International Trustees Report And Audited Accounts 31St December 2013
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Respect for all languages and cultures is fundamental to the process of constructing and maintaining dialogue and peace in the world.
— The Girona Manifesto on Linguistic Rights