Discipline Literary journal Edited by M Mark Frequency Annual | Language English Publication history 2000–present | |
Publisher PEN American Center (United States) | ||
PEN America: A Journal for Writers and Readers is an annual literary journal that features fiction, poetry, conversation, criticism, and memoir. It is published by PEN American Center in New York City. Contributors include Yousef Al-Mohaimeed, Paul Auster, Michael Cunningham, Lydia Davis, Petina Gappah, Nikki Giovanni, Rawi Hage, Shahriar Mandanipour, Colum McCann, Michael Ondaatje, Marilynne Robinson, Salman Rushdie, Susan Sontag, John Edgar Wideman, and many others.
PEN America was founded in 2000 by M Mark, then a member of PEN's Board of Trustees. In its first year, PEN America was named one of the "Ten Best New Magazines" by Library Journal. The magazine was nominated for an Utne Independent Press Award for international coverage in 2010. The essay "Ghost Writer," by Cynthia Ozick, published in PEN America 9: Checkpoints, was reprinted in The Best American Essays 2009 (part of The Best American Series). Fiction from the magazine has been selected for the Pushcart Prize in 2009 and 2010.
In February 2009, Edward Albee, André Aciman, Anthony Appiah, Ron Chernow, Lydia Davis, Deborah Eisenberg, Francine Prose, and Sarah Ruhl participated in the journal's first benefit reading.