PEN Transmissions - English PEN’s magazine for international and translated voices

A Matter of Conscience: Reni Eddo‑Lodge

Reni Eddo‑Lodge on what it means to write with and from conscience.

3 min read

A Matter of Conscience: Ahdaf Soueif

Ahdaf Soueif on what it means to write with and from conscience.

3 min read

Peace: Max Porter’s 2026 PEN Lecture

English PEN’s annual PEN Lecture delivered by Max Porter on 29 April 2026.

29 min read

In the Unlimited Confines of My Creativity, I Was Free

Hannah Branston and Ade Adedeji on art and activism.

10 min read

Leaping Seasons

Hongyu Jasmine Zhu on precious memories with her mother.

—Essays | Young Voices

9 min read

Nothing Is Real, Everything Is Real: An Interview with Michelle Steinbeck and Jen Calleja

Michelle Steinbeck and Jen Calleja on fascism, femicide, and ghosts.

17 min read

Knowing Is a Kind of Pain: An Interview with Vaddey Ratner

Vaddey Ratner on memory, narrative history, and storytelling as a means of survival.

11 min read

Coffee Corner

Bushra al-Maqtari on how Sana’a, Yemen, has changed. Translated by Sawad Hussain.

11 min read

Dissolving Sugar in Water: A Long Conversation with Solvej Balle

Solvej Balle on time, morality, and searching.

24 min read

Between Worlds: Sabrina Mahfouz’s Encomium for Leila Aboulela

Sabrina Mahfouz's 2025 PEN Pinter Prize encomium.

5 min read

woman wearing a red, white, and black patterned headscarf and a dark shirt, posing against a dark background

Stella Gaitano’s PEN Pinter Prize Writer of Courage 2025 Speech

Stella Gaitano, PEN Pinter Prize Writer of Courage 2025.

8 min read

woman in glasses and a light blue head scarf standing in a softly lit space

This Is Not My Story to Tell

Hajera Khaja on telling her friend's story.

12 min read