English PEN’s annual Literary Salon will return to the London Book Fair for one day this year, in the Focus Theatre, Olympia, London, on Wednesday 12 March 2025.
This year’s programme of six sessions includes thought-provoking discussions on the intersections of literature, equity, and freedom of expression. With conversations on the ethics of re-editing contentious classics, the sustainability of print publishing in the face of the climate crisis, the ethical complexities of funding literary festivals, industry responses to global conflicts, and the tensions between creative expression and appropriation, this year’s English PEN Literary Salon will explore complex and pressing issues about the future of literature and free expression.
Full programme
10am – Writing others’ experiences: freedom and appropriation
Panel: Adam Howard, Georgina Kamsika, Christy Lefteri, Erica Hesketh (Chair).
Writers and industry professionals address the contested topic of authors writing from a marginalised perspective that isn’t their own.
What are writers’ and publishers’ responsibilities? Can we ethically write someone else’s trauma? Are there situations where a writer should be discouraged from writing from, or about, a particular marginalised identity – and does that constitute a threat to freedom of expression? What is the line between creative expression and exploitation?
11.15am – Publishing and environmental responsibility: why the climate crisis is a free expression issue
Panel: Lisa Faratro, Émilie Hames, Dr James Miller, Jude Gates (Chair).
A panel discussion on the relationships between industry sustainability, free expression, and publishing about the climate crises. Can print publishing continue sustainably? How can we ensure career sustainability for authors while divesting from fossil fuel funding? And, ultimately, is it even possible to have freedom of expression in a burning world?
12.30pm – The ethics of funding: the future of UK literary festivals and prizes
Panel: Jessica Gaitán Johannesson, Chris Garrard, Fiona Goh, Fiona Razvi, Daniel Gorman (Chair).
A deep dive on the pressing issue of ethical funding in the sector, asking: can literary prizes and festivals be ethically financed? What are the implications of withdrawing labour from prizes and festivals? Have the concerns highlighted over the last year presented an opportunity – and urgency – to find a new model? What can this new model of ethical funding be?
1.45pm – Publishing responsibly in times of conflict (part 1): SWANA literature and non-instrumentalising practices
Panel: Alia Alzougbi, Katharine Halls, Tamara Sampey-Jawad, Mahmoud Muna, Selma Dabbagh (Chair).
The first of a two-part conversation on how the sector is responding to global geopolitics and regional conflicts.
How do we best publish work by writers experiencing war; how do we do it ethically? How do we avoid conflict becoming seen as a sales opportunity? What are the ethics of acquiring and platforming writers from countries in times of crisis?
With a focus on Palestine and the wider SWANA region, this panel will address how the industry treats war, oppression and genocide, asking: where is the line between amplifying and profiteering?
3pm – Publishing responsibly in times of conflict (part 2): crises the industry ignores
Panel: Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, Lucy Kassa, Sana Goyal (Chair).
The second of a two-part conversation on how the sector is responding – or not responding – to global geopolitics and regional conflicts.
Why does the industry focus on some conflicts and seemingly ignore others? Are these questions of infrastructure or of profit? And is increased representation the most useful way to respond to war, oppression and genocide, or does this risk being an inadequate response?
4.15pm – What do we do with contentious classics?
Panel: Maria Bedford, Dr Darren Chetty, Hannah Chukwu, Aimée Felone, Nicky Parker (Chair).
Addressing the contested topic of re-editing and republishing classics that contain slurs and outmoded language, this panel asks: what is the difference between retroactive censorship and responding to changing times, and is this a question of ethics or capital? Whose right – or responsibility – is it to make these decisions?