Afghan PEN is “progressing in an endless upward curve”, nurturing young Afghan writers and promoting freedom of expression.
PEN Translation Fund Grant Announces 11 Recipients for 2011
PEN has selected 11 projects out of 130 submitted to fund for translation.
Chad Post on Amazon’s Grant Program
By Chad Post, Guest Editor First off, I want to thank Ed Nawotka for allowing me to guest edit Publishing Perspectives this week. This is a real honor, and it’s great that he did the most of the work for which I’ll hopefully get a lot of the credit. (Although the “e-books in Argentina” piece appearing tomorrow is totally my …
Is Interest in Translated and Foreign Lit Growing in the US?
By Edward Nawotka As discussed in our lead story, the PEN World Voices Festival has done much to help promote foreign and translated literature to Americans. There are other signs that interest is growing: a proliferation of small publishers with a strong focus on translation (Open Letter, Archipelago), new tours of foreign writers, even an increasing tolerance for European “intellectuals” who …
PEN World Voices as Change Agent
By Chad W. Post It was almost seven years ago when I met then PEN executive director Michael Roberts and translator extraordinaire Esther Allen for drinks at the Washington Square Hotel to talk about this new festival they wanted to launch in support of international literature. The Berlin International Literature Festival was going to be their model . . . …
Watch Sessions from PEN’s World Voices Fest All Weekend
By Edward Nawotka The PEN World Voices Festival in New York continues through Monday. If you can’t make it to New York, you can still watch events live as they happen all weekend: take a look at what’s on offer and for links to stream the events here.
PEN World Voices Festival: 150 Authors, 40 Countries
By Edward Nawotka Mark your calendars: The schedule for the PEN World Voices Festival was released today. You can read it here. A few of the writers featured include: Mohsin Hamid, László Krasznahorkai, Andrea Levy, Yiyun Li, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, Sofi Oksanen, Atiq Rahimi, Salman Rushdie, Alberto Ruy-Sanchez, Patti Smith, Andrzej Stasiuk, and recent Publishing Perspectives contributor Miguel Syjuco. The Festival …
Georges Anglade, PEN Haiti Founder, RIP
By Edward Nawotka Among those killed in this week’s earthquake in Haiti was Georges Anglade, a Haitian-Canadian scholar, writer, and politician, who in 2008 founded PEN Haiti. He was the author of numerous books, including the satire What If Haiti Declared War on the U.S.A.? and five collections of lodyans, a Haitian narrative genre of “dwarf-sized sagas,” including the 2006 …
Light a Candle for Liu Xiaobo
By Edward Nawotka We’ve been remiss in not writing about the trial and sentencing of literary critic and political commentator Liu Xiaobo (please forgive us), which took place over the holidays. For a year Liu Xiaobo has been under arrest — at first, with no formal charge, then in July on the ominous charge of “inciting subversion of state power” …
Global Trade Talk: PEN Prioritizes Indigenous Language Preservation; Club Bertelsmann Becomes Zeilenreich; Amazon International Profits Up
By Edward Nawotka and Siobhan O’Leary Last Wednesday, London-based International PEN elected Canadian writer John Ralston Saul as the organization’s new director, replacing Czech writer Jirí Grušá who has held the position for the last six years. In an interview with CBC Radio, Saul said that in addition to PEN’s traditional role of fighting for freedom of expression, he would try …