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PEN Gathers New York Literati in
Brooklyn to Celebrate New Books
Record-breaking Year in Membership
for Leading Literary and
Human Rights Organization
NEW YORK—PEN American Center brought together
over 300 of New York’s most acclaimed writers, translators,
editors, agents, and publishers to celebrate new books
published in 2013 and the fruits of free expression at its
annual New Members/New Books party last night at powerHouse
Arena in Brooklyn.
The diversity of PEN’s membership was
reflected in the event’s co-hosts: Poet Laureate of Brooklyn Tina
Chang, Jezebel founder Anna
Holmes, novelists Mitchell
Jackson and Dani
Shapiro, and author Gary
Shteyngart, whose new memoir was published earlier
this month. Distinguished and longstanding PEN Members such
as Ron
Chernow, Elissa
Schappell, Roxana
Robinson, Lev
Grossman, and Elinor
Lipman mingled
with up-and-coming writers including B.J.
Novak, Marie-Helene
Bertino, Paul
Rome, Patty
Chang Anker, Caleb
Crain, Mark
Binelli, and Dina
Nayeri. New PEN Member Lena
Dunham, creator of the HBO original series Girls,
curated the music for the evening, while Rosie
Schaap, author of last year’s memoir Drinking
with Men, created literary-themed cocktails courtesy of
liquor sponsors Hendrick’s Gin and Zyr Russian Vodka.
Brooklyn Brewery donated the beer.
Guests posed for The
Photo Booth Party in
front of a collage of 250+ cover images from books published
by PEN Members in the last year, many of which were on
display that night for guests to review. The rate of new
members in PEN has nearly tripled since 2011, with an
unprecedented 376 new members joining in 2013.
“Your membership directly helps PEN fight
censorship and defend free expression throughout the world
for those writers and journalists denied the most basic
liberty,” PEN’s Membership Director Paul Morris told the
crowd. “A voice.”
Co-hosts and new members offered touching and
often hilarious testimonials of their experience as PEN
members. “I grew up in a totalitarian society where I was
not allowed to express myself,” said Shteyngart. “ I’m
talking about Hebrew school in Queens!” He continued, “PEN
helps writers in all parts of the world, from Vladivostok to
Kew Gardens Hills. And that is something that you are
helping to support right now. The people who you are helping
are forever, forever a part of what you do."
PEN Executive Director Suzanne Nossel ended
the night with a call to action, encouraging all in
attendance to send a postcard or email to Chinese President
Xi Jinping demanding the freedom of PEN member and poet Liu
Xia, who has been under house arrest in Beijing since her
husband, jailed writer and Independent Chinese PEN Center
President Liu Xiaobo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
2010.
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PEN American Center is
a community of 3,500 writers working to bring down barriers
to free expression worldwide. Its distinguished members
carry on the achievements in literature and advancement of
human rights of such past members as Langston Hughes, Arthur
Miller, and Susan Sontag. To learn more, visit www.pen.org. |