How do authors transform the raw material of a traumatic memory into a compelling fiction or nonfiction narrative? This was ...

PEN Canada celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression and aids writers in peril.

Given the enormous size of the U.S. book market relative to the Canadian market, and the pervasiveness of U.S. cultural trends, what happens in the United States affects Canadian writers and Canadian ...

PEN Canada is pleased to announce Ira Wells as the new president of PEN Canada. He was elected on Thursday, June 12, 2025 during the PEN Canada Annual General Meeting. Ira Wells is a ...

Photo of Christine Wu, credit to Leah Pohlman “There’s a lot of emotion unsaid between my family and myself,” Christine Wu says over a call, reaching us from her maritime home in Kjipuktuk (Halifax).

PEN Canada was founded in 1983. We are a nonpartisan organization of writers and readers. One of our central roles is to defend the right to freedom of expression. We raise our voices against domestic ...

PEN Canada is now accepting English-language submissions for the 2025 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. The annual award supports and celebrates emerging talent in Canadian literature. Unpublished ...

Ira Wells has been elected as president of PEN Canada. Wells is a critic, essayist, professor of literature, and author of three books, the latest of which, On Book Banning (Biblioasis, ...

Nancy Huggett has won the 2024 RBC PEN Canada New Voices Award. For her winning submission, Revelation, she will receive a $3,000 cash prize and mentorship from a Canadian author. A jury of Canadian ...

Jimmy Lai, a journalist, writer, media publisher, and pro-democracy activist, has won PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award. Lai, who has been in solitary confinement since December 2020, is currently ...

PEN Canada joins 39 organizations and 132 individuals in a joint letter demanding a complete withdrawal of Bill C-2. The following letter was sent this week to Canadian authorities, including Prime ...

This year for Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN is calling for urgent international action from November 15 – 29 to protect four writers targeted for their peaceful free expression work, including ...