PEN News: July 21, 2011‏

PEN News: July 21, 2011‏

PEN MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA AMENDED PEN’s membership criteria have now been amended to allow writers to apply after the publication of their first book or after producing one work in a professional setting. Previously, most authors were required to have published two books to join PEN. Spread the word: encourage friends and colleagues to apply. [More] PEN SHORTS CONTEST PEN Shorts posts a new short narrative contest every few weeks. This week’s contest asks writers to channel Ernest Hemingway by rewriting a tabloid story using the author’s signature style. [More] FIND PEN ONLINE NOTE: To unsubscribe from our mailing list, please use the orange links at the bottom of this newsletter. For any other issues, please contact us here.

ADVOCACY NEWS Dissident Writer Liao Yiwu Flees China Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC) board member Liao Yiwu has fled his native China for Germany and declared himself an exile. Liao, author of the groundbreaking work The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China From the Bottom Up, was to have appeared at this year’s PEN World Voices Festival but was barred from traveling to the United States just days before the Festival kicked off. [More] Poet Ayat al-Gormezi Released from Prison One month after she was sentenced to a year in prison on anti-state charges for poems critical of the king, Bahraini poet and student Ayat al-Gormezi was released. PEN continues to call for the sentence to be officially revoked, and for the release of those who remain detained for the peaceful expression of their views. Watch video of al-Gormezi reading her poem in Pearl Square. [More] Tran Khai Thanh Thuy Released from Prison Jailed Vietnamese writer and PEN Honorary Member Tran Khai Thanh Thuy was released from prison and has arrived safely in the United States. Thanh Thuy, a renowned novelist, poet, essayist, and member of the pro-democracy group Bloc 8406, was serving a three-year sentence on a trumped-up assault charge. [More] NEW AT PEN.ORG The Daily PEN American, PEN’s New Blog, Launches Taking inspiration from the passionate promotion of literature and free expression by past PEN Presidents Susan Sontag, Arthur Miller, and Salman Rushdie and from PEN’s broad base of talented members, the Daily PEN American aims to remind readers that freedom of expression is not just about the right to speak freely but the right to hear and read what others are saying anywhere in the world. In the coming months expect to find amazing work by both American and international authors, new translations, news from the front lines of our advocacy campaigns, voices of those imprisoned or in jeopardy for their writing, and much more. [More] 2011 PEN Translation Fund Grant Recipients Announced The PEN Translation Fund, now celebrating its eighth year, is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s competition. From a field of more than 130 applicants, the Fund’s Advisory Board has selected 11 projects for funding. [More] Online Translation Slam: 끝에 선 나무들 PEN’s online Translation Slam showcases the art of translation by juxtaposing two “competing” translations of a single work. For this final installment, we asked translators to test their linguistic mettle on 끝에 선 나무들, a poem by Korean writer Jeong Kkeut-byeol. [More] Presenting the 2011 Prison Writing Contest Winners Each year, the PEN Prison Writing Program recognizes the work of writers imprisoned throughout the country. Exiled from our schools and society, inmates submit manuscripts in every form to one of the only forums of public expression for incarcerated writers. [More]

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