Our Mission
PEN/Faulkner’s mission is to champion the breadth and power of fiction in America.
Our Values
PEN/Faulkner is dedicated to the idea that fiction creates empathy within and among communities and advances civil discourse. American culture thrives when stories from diverse perspectives enrich our lives. To further these ideals, we cultivate a vibrant landscape for writers and readers of fiction both locally and nationally.
Our Team
Sherri Hammerman
Marketing Coordinator
Maya Lawrence
Education Programs Director
Caroline Schreiber
Development Director
Sarah Silberman
Awards and Literary Programs Director
Gwydion Suilebhan
Executive Director
Our Board Members
Katherine Boone
President
Lauren Francis-Sharma
First Vice President
Tope Folarin
Vice President
Jojo Ruf
Vice President
Donna Hemans
Secretary
Thomas Lloyd
Treasurer
Anne K. Aaron
Board Member
Elliot Ackerman
Board Member
Marie Arana
Board Member
Jabari Asim
Board Member
Lisa Brooks
Lisa Brooks
Susan Ginsburg
Board Member
Xochitl Gonzalez
Board Member
Linette S. Hwu
Board Member
Sophia McCrocklin
Board Member
Bethanne Patrick
Board Member
Clay Smith
Board Member
Ericka Taylor
Board Member
Martha Anne Toll
Board Member
Jung Yun
Board Member
Emeritus Board of Directors
Jackson Bryer
Molly Elkin
Ginny Grenham
Patricia Griffith
Mary Haft
Willee Lewis
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
Tracy McGillivary
Frazier O’Leary
Lisa Page
George Pelecanos
Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Susan Shreve
Katherine Field Stephen
Deborah Tannen
Honored Former Board Members
Conrad Cafritz
Thomas Caplan
H.G. Carrillo *
Stephen Goodwin
Nick Kotz *
Beverly Lowry
E. Ethelbert Miller
Azar Nafisi
Diane Rehm
Mary Lee Settle, Founder *
Susan Stamberg
Lou Stovall *
Mary Kay Zuravleff
* deceased
Imagining the Future: Black Lives Matter Week of Action 2024
By Brielle Perry, Literary Education Programs Assistant On a bright February morning, seventeen third graders gather at the front of their classroom. A rare winter sunlight pours through the...
2023 Black Lives Matter Week of Action
Lakita Wilson sits on a chair in the front of the classroom, surrounded by a dozen third graders at her feet. The children are transfixed by her, listening as she explains the history of the Black...
Revisiting the Literary State of the Union
At our Literary State of the Union event, we had the good fortune of hearing from several DC-area writers in response to the following prompt: "What Does Being a Writer Teach Me about the State of...
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