English PEN’s annual PEN Lecture invites a leading writer to reflect on the current state of free expression, and to explore the resonance – or dissonance – of the words of the PEN Charter, the guiding principles of the organisation, with our current reality.
The 2026 PEN Lecture will be delivered by award-winning writer Max Porter on 29 April 2026, at the Curtis Auditorium, Newcastle, in partnership with New Writing North and the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts.
Porter will reflect on the PEN Charter, which has guided and unified PEN centres across the world since 1948. Forged from the ashes of World War Two, the PEN Charter calls for the “unhampered transmission of thought”, “declares for a free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of peace”, opposes the “mendacious publication, deliberate falsehood, and distortion of facts for political and personal ends”, and affirms that “literature knows no frontiers, and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheaval”.
In an era of upheaval and conflict, Porter will ask what place these principles hold in our society, reflecting particularly on the Charter’s phrase “in time of peace”.
Porter’s lecture will be accompanied by live music from improvising duo Resonant Bodies.
After delivering his lecture, he will be in conversation with award-winning writer and NCLA Director Preti Taneja.
Max Porter is the multi-award winning author of four novels, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Lanny, The Death of Francis Bacon, and Shy. His work has been translated into 36 languages. He is a frequent collaborator with theatre-makers, artists and musicians. His debut screenplay STEVE came out in 2025. He is an Associate Artist at The Southbank Centre.
Preti Taneja is a writer and activist, and Professor of World Literature and Creative Writing at Newcastle University. She co-chairs English PEN’s Translation Advisory Group. Preti’s first novel, We That Are Young, a translation of Shakespeare’s King Lear set in contemporary India is a critique of Imperial legacies in India and of the rise of Indian fascism. We That Are Young won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2018 for the UK’s finest literary debut and was listed for awards including the Rathbone’s Folio Prize, the Republic of Consciousness Prize, and the Prix Jan Michalski. It is in translation into several languages. Her second book, Aftermath, a non-fiction lament on terror, trauma and grief following the London Bridge attack in 2019, won the Gordon Burn Prize 2022, given to ‘literature that is fearless in both ambition and execution.’ Preti was awarded the 2022 Philip Leverhulme Prize in Languages and Literatures for her experimental work.
Resonant Bodies is an improvising duo consisting of Zebedee C. Budworth (hammered dulcimer) and Rob Bentall (nyckelharpa). They met playing in doom-folk ensemble Slug Milk in 2017. The duo seeks to reimagine their medieval sound world through a more experimental lens. Their improvisations can feel like a white-knuckle ride; ranging from calm to chaotic, they can work up to a frantic pace, pushing themselves to a point they can barely hold. The rich sonorities of their ancient instruments lends their music a distinctive sound. Recently, Resonant Bodies have supported Shovel Dance Collective at EartH Hackney, were part of Sonorities Festival (Belfast), have released music on Jacken Elswyth’s Betwixt & Between Tapes, and have been selected for a prestigious Britten Pears Artist Residency in May 2026.