English PEN events

With details of upcoming events:

Common Currency: Celebrating 100 years of English PEN  with Rebecca Solnit: In Conversation  31 March 2020, 6.30pm  Tyneside Cinema, 10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6QG  To mark English PEN's 100th birthday, we're launching Common Currency: Celebrating 100 years of English PEN – an 18-month celebration of freedom of expression, creative campaigning, and the best literature the world has to offer. Today, on International Women’s Day, we’re thrilled to announce the first Common Currency event – a conversation with Rebecca Solnit, activist and author of Men Explain Things to Me and The Mother of All Questions.  Rebecca will be discussing her new book, Recollections of My Nonexistence, with Leena Norms, and a book signing will take place after the event.  Presented in partnership with New Writing North, the literature development organisation for the North of England, and Tyneside Cinema.  Book tickets "Literature knows no frontiers, and should remain a common currency between nations in spite of political or international upheavals." The PEN Charter Our Common Currency programme will take on three themes inspired by the PEN charter: celebrating extraordinary women, free speech and democracy, and languages and ideas crossing borders.  We hope you can join us for our first event with the extraordinary Rebecca Solnit, and we’ll release more nationwide events soon, so stay tuned!  All the best,  The English PEN Team Common Currency is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. Copyright © 2020 English PEN, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: English PEN Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road London, Eng EC1R 3GA United Kingdom

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE LONDON BOOK FAIR HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

Coming soon... The English PEN Literary Salon at The London Book Fair 2020 Discussing dissent and the work of Ludvík Vaculík  Hina Belitz, Meena Kandasamy and Intan Paramaditha  A Czech Dreambook: Dissent as an Everyday Experience Thursday 20 February, 7:15pm Free Word Centre, London Join Gerald Turner, Daňa Horáková, and Jonathan Bolton as they discuss Ludvík Vaculík’s compelling portrait of dissident life, literary testimony in times of oppression, and the role of women in dissent. Book tickets Hina Belitz, Meena Kandasamy & Intan Paramaditha Wednesday 4 March, 6:30pm Waterstones Gower Street, London In collaboration with Waterstones Gower Street, we're bringing together three writers challenging expectations of Asian women – and challenging the form of the novel itself.   Book tickets The English PEN Literary Salon at The London Book Fair 2020 10 - 12 March Olympia, London The English PEN Literary Salon will be returning to The London Book Fair. The programme includes Edna O'Brien, Tessa Hadley, Irenosen Okojie, Lavie Tidhar, Afra Atiq, Eley Williams, Mark Millar, and Cressida Cowell.   View full programme From our friends Refugee Awareness Week 10 - 14 February Goldsmiths University From pizza, poetry and open mic to award-winning documentary film screenings, Refugee Awareness Week is an informative and inspiring series of events, hosted by Goldsmiths Star Society and Goldsmiths English PEN. Find out more Memorial for Raficq Abdulla MBE Thursday 19 March, 7.30pm St Peter's Church, Hammersmith We're honoured to be joining Raficq’s family and friends to host a memorial service to celebrate his life. Refreshments will be served from 6.45pm and the programme will run from 7.30 – 9.30pm. All welcome. RSVP cat@englishpen.org Philippe Sands and Stephen Fry on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive Tuesday 28 April, 6.45pm Emmanuel Centre, London What is the meaning of justice and evil? How do we deal with the sins of our parents? Philippe Sands and Stephen Fry return to the world of their critically acclaimed BBC series, The Ratline. Book tickets Open Day for Under-Represented Writers Wednesday 10 June Royal Station Hotel, Newcastle Our friends at David Higham Associates are offering ten writers the opportunity to meet with industry experts and receive tailored feedback on their work from top literary agents. They welcome applications from any un-agented writer from an under-represented background including LGBTQ+ writers, BAME writers, writers from working-class backgrounds, ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, and disabled writers. Apply by Monday 24 February. Find out more Copyright © 2020 English PEN, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: English PEN Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road London, Eng EC1R 3GA United Kingdom

library of exile We're delighted to announce our new collaboration with artist and writer Edmund de Waal and the British Museum. We're hosting a fascinating series of panel discussions inspired by themes raised by the acclaimed installation library of exile, which opens on 12 March 2020. Alongside the free exhibition, we’re hosting a rich series of events on the theme of exile, migration and loss. Tickets on sale now. Displaced memories: recollection and exile  20 March, 18.30–20.00  British Museum, London  £12, £10 (members and concessions) Join Edmund de Waal for a discussion on memory, loss and exile with award-winning poet Kayo Chingonyi, Chilean novelist Alia Trabucco Zerán, and British Palestinian fiction-writer Selma Dabbagh. Chaired by BBC journalist and broadcaster Ritula Shah.  Book tickets No frontiers: celebrating writing in translation  17 April, 18.30–20.00  British Museum, London £12, £10 (members and concessions) Celebrate the role of translation in breaking down barriers with a panel chaired by Claire Armitstead of the Guardian, and featuring Syrian-born writer and translator Dima Wannous; Chinese-born British poet Ma Jian, author of Red Dust; and his translator Flora Drew.  Book tickets Future exiles: climate change and migration  19 June, 18.30–20.00  British Museum, London £12, £10 (members and concessions) For Refugee Week, explore the interconnected nature of climate change and migration, with Comorian writer and researcher Ali Zamir; environmental lawyer James Thornton; director of the International Center for the Humanities and Social Change at Ca’Foscari University of Venice Professor Shaul Bassi; and indigenous Arctic writer, spoken word poet and curator Taqralik Partridge.  Book tickets Writing experiences of migration and exile  7 September, 18.30–20.00  British Museum, London £12, £10 (members and concessions) Explore how literature can represent the experience of migration and exile. Featuring Edmund de Waal; award-winning novelist Elif Shafak; British-Libyan writer Hisham Matar; Uzbek writer Hamid Ismailov; and broadcaster and writer Kavita Puri.  Book tickets Photo of Selma Dabbagh, courtesy of the author. Photo of Ma Jian, by Flora Drew. Photo of Ali Zamir, courtesy of English PEN. Photo of Elif Shafak, by Zeynel Abidin. From our friends Literature Matters: RSL 200 – Stephen Fry and Meera Syal Tuesday 14 April, 7.30pm (doors 6.45pm) Union Chapel, London Throughout 2020 the Royal Society of Literature will celebrate its bicentenary with RSL 200, an event series bringing together some of the world’s best-known writers to explore the impact of literature on their lives. In the first Literature Matters: RSL 200 event, RSL Fellows Stephen Fry and Meera Syal will discuss their writing across forms – from sketch comedy to poetry, independently and in collaboration, written and performed – that has elevated them each to the status of national treasure. Find out more Copyright © 2020 English PEN, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: English PEN Free Word Centre 60 Farringdon Road London, Eng EC1R 3GA United Kingdom