Graphic Novels for Kids at the 2026 PEN World Voices Festival
A report on "The Transformative Power of Graphic Novels for Kids" panel at the 2026 PEN World Voices Festival.
PEN World Voices Festival: ArtLords Community Mural
A mural created by the ArtLords collective from Afghanistan, which brings its message of peace and community engagement to the world.
PEN World Voices Festival: Writing Humor for Kids, Seriously
A roundup of a fascinating panel for the PEN World Voices Festival on writing humor for kids that can be multilayered and subversive.
A map of states with school book bans, part of the 2023 World Voices Festival.
Authors Speak Out Against Book Bans
Introducing Authors Against Book Bans, an organization for freedom of expression that I joined along with more than a thousand other authors.
PEN World Voices Festival: Writing Truthfully for Kids About Today’s Issues
A summary of the panel "Writing Truthfully for Kids About Today's Issues," part of the 2023 PEN World Voices Festival.
A Change in Plans
The cancellation of my travels to Portugal this year and what I'll be doing instead.
The panelists, from left, Masha Gessen, Max Book, Ian Buruma, and moderator Chip Rawley.
PEN World Voices Festival 2018: “It Can’t Happen Here”
A closing panel of the 2018 PEN World Voices Festival addresses the question: could (or has) an authoritarian regime come to power in the United States?
PEN World Voices Festival 2018: “What Shall We Tell the Children?”
The contributors to an upcoming volume of poetry, essays, and art on resistance offer advice to parents on talking to children in challenging times.
PEN World Voices Festival 2018: “Tell Me What Democracy Looks Like”
A PEN World Voices panel on writing and democracy that highlighted the myth of meritocracy and the self-made man, and need for more inclusive media and stories.
Advocating for Chicano Children’s Authors and Representation at the PEN World Voices Festival
A write-up of the PEN World Voices Festival highlighting the Tomás Rivera Award and the need for better representation of Mexican Americans in children's books.