Blog

YOU

YOU

DATE | Wed, September 23, 2020, 7:00 PM
LOCATION | Online Event

This third installment of Literature on Screen features Caroline Kepnes, author of the best-selling book turned hit Netflix series, You. Caroline was in conversation with Penn Badgley, actor and star of the TV adaptation, and moderator Chris Klimek (NPR, Washington Post) to discuss the translation of her books to the hit Netflix series, as well as the modernization of stalking in the digital age that takes place in her novels.

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Alice Tsai

We continue our spotlight on the wonderful interns we worked with this spring with an essay by our Research and Evaluation intern, Alice Tsai. As the population of the United States becomes increasingly diverse, it is important that students are in classrooms that are...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Natalie Davis (Part 2)

This spring, we were joined by incredible interns who each wrote essays inspired by their time in the organization. We are thrilled to present the second essay by Natalie Davis, our spring Education Programs intern. “Twilight Is My Harry Potter” Author’s Note: The...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Natalie Davis (Part 1)

This spring, we were joined by Natalie Davis, our amazing Education Programs intern, who wrote two essays inspired by her time in the organization. We are excited to share the first of them with you. “A Street Where Books and YouTube Meet” There was a time where I...

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Our Video Celebration of the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award

Please join us in paying tribute to our 2020 winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Chloe Aridjis’ Sea Monsters, as well as our four finalists: Yiyun Li’s Where Reasons End; Peter Rock’s The Night Swimmers; Maurice Carlos Ruffin’s We Cast a Shadow; and Ocean...

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WIRED

WIRED

DATE | February 27, 2020 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION | Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

According to the NIMH, almost twenty percent of American adults live with a mental illness. From social anxiety and depression to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, mental illness is becoming more prevalent in today’s society and everyday dialogue.

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The 40th Anniversary PEN/Faulkner Award Celebration

Monday, May 4 at The Willard Hotel 6:30 pm, Cocktails 7:30 pm, Dinner and Award Program Join us on the 40th anniversary of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction as we celebrate this year’s distinguished books and authors. This exquisite literary evening—our sole...

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Announcing the 2020 PEN/Faulkner Award Longlist

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the PEN/Faulkner Award, we asked this year’s award judges to select a long list of the ten most significant books published in 2019. We are pleased to announce the following books which have been longlisted for the 2020 PEN/Faulkner...

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Black Lives Matter Week of Action

Ten percent. In 2018, that was the percentage of published children’s books that featured a character who was African or African American. Ten percent. The total percentage of children’s books featuring African or African American, Asian Pacific American, Latinx, or...

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Celebrating Our Education Programs

The name PEN/Faulkner may conjure images of literary delights, from dynamic authors in conversation to our prestigious, peer-juried awards in fiction and the short story. Alongside these nationally-reaching endeavors, we bring more than one hundred writers to schools...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Sabrina Sthay

This fall, PEN/Faulkner had the privilege of being joined by three amazing interns. Before they left us, they each wrote essays inspired by their time in the organization. It’s our honor to share them with you. We started with a piece by Anique Jones, continued with a...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Demory Hobbs

This fall, PEN/Faulkner had the privilege of being joined by three amazing interns. Before they left us, they each wrote essays inspired by their time in the organization. It’s our honor to share them with you. We started with a piece by Anique Jones, and we're...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner Interns: Anique Jones

This fall, PEN/Faulkner had the privilege of being joined by three amazing interns. Before they left us, they each wrote essays inspired by their time in the organization. It’s our honor to share them with you, starting with this piece by Anique Jones: LOOKING THROUGH...

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Get Your Tickets to Unincarcerated!

Don't miss our next Literary Conversation on Thursday, November 21 at 7pm! Featuring authors Reginald Dwayne Betts, Dr. DaMaris B. Hill, Luis Rodriguez, and Tony Lewis Jr., and presented in partnership with Impact/Justice and MahoganyBooks! Tickets on sale now:...

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UNINCARCERATED

UNINCARCERATED

Date | November 21, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Location | True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

This event featured authors who write about the effects of this system on the lives of everyday Americans, shedding light on narratives that are often oversimplified or ignored.

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WORDS AND PICTURES

WORDS AND PICTURES

DATE | October 9, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Location | Penn Social, 801 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

What happens when the visual arts meet the literary arts?

Join the PEN/Faulkner Foundation for an evening of conversation with some of the biggest names in graphic novels, as they talk about artistic collaborations and the evolution of storytelling in a new era.

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Don’t Miss Our First Literary Conversation of the Season!

PEN/Faulkner's first Literary Conversation will focus on the role of graphic novels and comics in today's world of visual media. Tickets on sale now! What happens when the visual arts meet the literary arts? For years, comic books and cartoons have dominated the realm...

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Tickets Now on Sale for PEN/Faulkner’s Annual Gala!

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation's Chair, Co-Chairs, Honorary Co-Chairs, Benefit Committee, and Board of Directors request the pleasure of your company at THE 31ST ANNUAL PEN/FAULKNER GALA Saturday, October 26, 2019 Katzen Arts Center, American University 4400...

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Youth Essay Contest Winners and Runners-up!

PEN/Faulkner is excited to announce the winners and runners-up for this year's Youth Essay Contest! Writers were asked to submit personal essays on the theme of "Rise Up." Each of the winners and runners-up will receive a monetary prize, and the two winners will read...

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Voices from PEN/Faulkner’s Interns

This summer, PEN/Faulkner had the privilege of being joined by three amazing interns: Jess Karan, Anna Hotard, and Olivia Guerrero. Before they left us, they each wrote essays inspired by their time in the organization. It's our honor to share them with you. QUEERING...

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Announcing the 2019 PEN/Malamud Award Winner

WASHINGTON, DC—John Edgar Wideman has been selected as the winner of the 2019 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Given since 1988 in honor of the late Bernard Malamud, the award recognizes a body of work that demonstrates excellence in the art of...

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Announcing the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award Winner

WASHINGTON, DC—Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi’s Call Me Zebra (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) has been selected as the winner of the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. “We are truly delighted to be able to honor such a rare and remarkable work of art,” said PEN/Faulkner...

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THE HATE U GIVE

THE HATE U GIVE

DATE | April 30, 2019 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION | AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
8633 Colesville Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20910

We welcomed author Angie Thomas and actor Russell Hornsby to DC where they discussed the translation of the bestselling novel, The Hate U Give, to the critically acclaimed movie adaptation, as well as the very real events that inspired the story.

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4/30 | Literature On Screen: The Hate U Give

Don't miss our final Literary Conversation of the season on Tuesday, April 30th at AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center! Get your tickets now! Join us in welcoming author Angie Thomas and actor Russell Hornsby to DC as they discuss the translation of the bestselling...

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Announcing the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalists

Judges have selected the five finalists for the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, America’s largest peer-juried prize for fiction. The finalists are: Blanche McCrary Boyd for Tomb of the Unknown Racist (Counterpoint), Richard Powers for The Overstory (W.W....

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FANTASTIC WOMEN

FANTASTIC WOMEN

DATE | March 10, 2019 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION | National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Ave NW
Washington, DC 20005

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the National Museum of Women in the Arts presented “Fantastic Women.”

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WHAT WAS, WHAT IS, AND WHAT WILL BE: A CROSS-GENRE LOOK AT AFROFUTURISM

WHAT WAS, WHAT IS, AND WHAT WILL BE: A CROSS-GENRE LOOK AT AFROFUTURISM

DATE | February 12, 2019 at 7:30 PM
LOCATION | Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003

Cultural critic Mark Dery coined the term “Afrofuturism” in his essay “Black to the Future,”and its meaning has expanded to encompass alternative visions of the future influenced by astral jazz, African-American sci-fi, psychedelic hip-hop, rock, rhythm and blues, and more. 

Author/playwright Tananarive Due, novelist N.K. Jemisin, and poet Airea D. Matthews discussed the origins and extensions of Afrofuturism in a conversation moderated by Sheree Renée Thomas. This event was co-sponsored by the Library of Congress Center for the Book and presented in partnership with Folger Poetry.

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Black Lives Matter Week of Action

Today kicks off the DC area Black Lives Matter Week of Action in DC public and charter schools across the city. All this week, PEN/Faulkner's Writers in Schools program will be hosting conversations between Black writers and students in schools across four wards of...

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BEYOND LA FRONTERA

BEYOND LA FRONTERA

Date | January 14, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Location | Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

We heard from award-winning Mexican American writers Jennifer Clement and Luis Alberto Urrea on such relevant issues as immigrant narratives, the epidemic of gun violence, and the xenophobic sentiment facing Mexican immigrants in the United States today. Both authors have a thread of activism woven through their work, Clement through her writing on hidden women and the far-reaching arm of human-trafficking, and Urrea in his stories of the border, a space where narratives have traditionally been overlooked.

This conversation was moderated by award-winning news anchor and reporter Maria Hinojosa.

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Tickets to Beyond La Frontera On Sale Now!

Don't miss out on this especially timely conversation featuring award-winning Mexican American writers Jennifer Clement and Luis Alberto Urrea. On January 14th, we will hear from these prolific writers as they discuss relevant issues such as immigrant narratives, the...

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What We Read and Loved in 2018

Not surprisingly, we’re a staff of book lovers and voracious readers. We asked around our office for the best book our staff and interns read this year. While this list doesn’t always include books published in 2018, we hope you’ll find something new to pick up, or to...

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FINDING HOME

FINDING HOME

Date | November 27, 2018 at 7:00 PM
Location | Jack Morton Auditorium, 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

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Get tickets now for Finding Home!

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation & GWU’s Institute for Middle East Studies invite you to delve into the intricacies of Arab American identity through the individual experiences of some of today’s most celebrated literary voices. Join notable Buzzfeed reporter Hannah...

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20 Book-ish Halloween Costume Ideas

1. Handmaids from The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Forced to live as obedient servants in a dystopian world of totalitarian theocratic rule, the handmaids fight back to regain female agency. The government mandates that each handmaid wear a long red dress,...

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LITERARY HORROR NIGHT

LITERARY HORROR NIGHT

DATE | October 29, 2018 at 7:00 PM
LOCATION | Penn Social, 801 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

Dan Chaon, Mark Z. Danielewski, and Brian Evenson joined us for a night filled with horror and incredible literature, reading from their work and engaging in conversation about what horror fiction as a genre says about the very real horrors we face on a daily basis. This evening was moderated by bestselling and award-winning author, Elizabeth Hand.

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Meet the Authors: 2018 Gala Edition

Though James Hannaham is an award winning author, he is also a performer and visual artist. His novel Delicious Foods was the winner of the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction as well as the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. Hannaham’s novel follows three unforgettable...

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Meet the Authors: 2018 Gala Edition

ZZ Packer was recognized as a talented writer at the early age of 19 for her first significant publication “Sometimes You Get Lucky” in Seventeen magazine. Another of Packer’s short stories, featured  in the Debut Fiction issue of The New Yorker, became a title story...

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Meet the Authors: 2018 Gala Edition

David Bradley’s novel The Chaneysville Incident won the 1982 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and the Academy Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. The novel was inspired by the discovery of the graves of runaway slaves on a farm near...

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Meet the Authors: 2018 Gala Edition

Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum's second novel Ms. Hempel Chronicles, a 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Finalist, follows the life of a seventh grade teacher as she grapples with being new to teaching, being new to the school and being newly engaged. Her first novel...

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LGBTQ+ Book List for June + the other 11 months

Pride Month is drawing to a close, but it doesn’t have to be June to read, enjoy, and celebrate literary works by LGBTQ+ authors! Here’s a list of some award-winning contemporary books by LGBTQ+ writers to drop in your checkout bin. Her Body and Other Parties (2017)...

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Call Me By Your Name: An Evening with André Aciman

Join us for this exciting evening with André Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name, as he discusses his critically acclaimed novel, particularly in the context of the Oscar-winning movie adaptation! André will be joined by Spencer Kornhaber, culture critic at The...

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2018 Award for Fiction

Announcing the 2018 Award for Fiction finalists: Hernan Diaz for In the Distance (Coffee House Press) Samantha Hunt for The Dark Dark (FSG Originals) Achy Obejas for The Tower of the Antilles (Akashic Books) Joan Silber for Improvement (Counterpoint) Jesmyn...

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BELONGING: The 29th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration

BELONGING: The 29th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration Monday, October 16th, 2017  |  6:00 PM NEW LOCATION: The Showroom | 1099 14th Street, NW On Monday, October 16th, 2017, PEN/Faulkner will hold its 29th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration at THE SHOWROOM in downtown...

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Announcing the 2017 PEN/Malamud Award Winner

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is pleased to announce that Jhumpa Lahiri will receive the 2017 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story in an Award Ceremony & Reading held at the Folger Shakespeare Library on December 8th, 2017. Jhumpa Lahiri is the author...

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The 37th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony

The 37th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony & Dinner Saturday, May 6th, 2017 at 7:00 PM Folger Shakespeare Library Celebrating the winner as "first among equals," the 37th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony & Dinner will take place at the Folger Shakespeare...

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March 28th: World War One and America

World War One and America Featuring: Elliot Ackerman, Maurice Decaul, Nicole Rizzuto, and Kayla Williams Tuesday, March 28th, 2017  |  7:00 - 9:00 PM RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKETS HERE Hill Center @ the Old Naval Hospital 921 Pennsylvania Ave, SE Washington, DC...

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Announcing the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalists!

Judges Chris Abani, Chantel Acevedo, and Sigrid Nunez have announced their list of finalists for the 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 4th. Following the announcement, the 37th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction...

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February 21st: Cli-Fi: Nathaniel Rich and Kate Walbert

Cli-Fi: Nathaniel Rich and Kate Walbert Tuesday, February 21st, 2017  |  7:30 PM Purchase a single ticket for $15 Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East Capitol St., SE Washington, DC 20003 (map) The latest novels of Nathaniel Rich (Odds Against Tomorrow) and Kate...

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RISK: The 28th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration

  RISK: The 28th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration Monday, September 26th, 2016  |  6:30 PM On Monday, Sept. 26th, 2016, PEN/Faulkner will hold its 28th Annual PEN/Faulkner Celebration at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC. This annual event supports...

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Geraldine Brooks in conversation with Sally Quinn

Geraldine Brooks in conversation with Sally Quinn A Collaboration with the Scottish Rite Masons Tuesday, June 7th at 7:00 PM Scottish Rite Center 2800 16th St. NW Washington, DC 20009 [Map] Free | Email rsvp@penfaulkner.org for tickets  Pulitzer Prize winning novelist...

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The 36th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony & Dinner

The 36th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony & Dinner May 14th, 2016 at 7:00 PM Folger Shakespeare Library Celebrating the winner as "first among equals," the 36th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award Ceremony & Dinner will take place at the Folger Shakespeare Library in...

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Announcing the 2016 PEN/Malamud Award Winner

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is pleased to announce that Joy Williams will receive the 2016 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story in an Award Ceremony & Reading held at the Folger Shakespeare Library in December 2016. Joy Williams is the author most...

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The PEN/Faulkner Award Judges’ Reading

PEN/Faulkner Presents: The 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award Judges Abby Frucht, Molly McCloskey, & Sergio Troncoso Thursday, May 12th, 2016  |  7:00 PM Free and open to the public Register Here Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Washington, DC...

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Announcing the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award Winner

Congratulations to James Hannaham, winner of the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his novel Delicious Foods (Little, Brown), and congratulations again to our four finalists: Julie Iromuanya for Mr. and Mrs. Doctor (Coffee House Press) Viet Thanh Nguyen for The...

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Congratulations, 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award Finalists!

Judges Abby Frucht, Molly McCloskey, and Sergio Troncoso have announced their list of finalists for the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The winner will be announced on April 5th, and the 36th Annual PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Ceremony & Dinner will be...

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April 27th – Free Minds Book Club

We Can Be the Change: Voices of Incarcerated Youth Free Minds Poetry Reading & Community Dialogue Wednesday, April 27th at 7 p.m.  Hill Center 921 Pennsylvania Ave SE Washington, DC 20003 [Map] Reserve Your Free Tickets Here Read about Writers in Schools and Free...

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Cocktails with Mitchell S. Jackson and Leslie Jamison

  Join PEN/Faulkner to welcome Mitchell Jackson and Leslie Jamison to D.C. with cocktails, conversation, and Union Kitchen catering at Compass Coffee! Doors open at 6:30 PM on Sunday, March 20th. Tickets are $75 here or at 202-898-9063. Student tickets are here....

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The First Annual Eudora Welty Lecture in Washington, D.C.

  Salman Rushdie to Give the Inaugural Eudora Welty Lecture in Washington, D.C. A new endowed lecture to be presented by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the Eudora Welty Foundation Tickets $24   The PEN/Faulkner Foundation and the Eudora Welty Foundation announce...

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PEN/Faulkner and the Folger Theatre Present: Louise Erdrich

Louise Erdrich May 10th, 2016  |  7:30 PM In Collaboration with the Library of Congress Folger Shakespeare Library 201 East Capitol Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (map) Tickets $15 online or at 202-544-7077 "Book by book, over the past three decades, Louise Erdrich...

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April 21st: Helen Oyeyemi

Helen Oyeyemi  |  What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours 6:30 PM at Politics & Prose @ Busboys and Poets Takoma, in conversation with The New Yorker's Margaret Talbot The last Spring 2016 PEN/Faulkner and Politics & Prose reading will be Helen Oyeyemi,  who is the...

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March 7th: A. Igoni Barrett

A. Igoni Barrett  |  Blackass 6:30 PM at Politics & Prose @ Busboys and Poets 14th & V PEN/Faulkner and Politics & Prose present A. Igoni Barrett, author of Blackass and Love Is Power, or Something Like That. He is a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service...

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Feb. 21st: Hanya Yanagihara

Hanya Yanagihara  |  A Little Life In Conversation with Mic's Madhulikka Sikka 6:30 PM at Politics & Prose @ Busboys and Poets Takoma PEN/Faulkner and Politics & Prose present Hanya Yanagihara, Man Booker- and National Book Award-shortlisted author of A Little...

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