Annual Congress
Since 1923, PEN has hosted 89 congresses, with 100 Centres from over 100 countries, bringing together up to 400 writers and opinion-makers.
The annual PEN Congress offers an opportunity for the entire PEN community to gather and speak about our work, strategise and adopt policy positions, exchange experiences and ideas, celebrate writing in all its forms, and simply catch up with old and new friends and colleagues.
About
Since its inaugural meeting in 1923, the PEN International Annual Congress has evolved into an annual convergence of writers worldwide. More than just the Annual General Meeting, congress serves as a pivotal platform for the global PEN community to engage in discussions on contemporary issues, literature, and freedom of expression.
Each Congress is characterised by a unique theme set by the host PEN Centre, reflecting the pressing issues relevant to its members and the region. Recent themes have encapsulated the essence of the host country: The Power of Words: Future Challenges for Freedom of Expression (Sweden 2022), Freedom of Expression in the Times of Pandemic (Online, 2020), Speaking in Tongues: Literary Freedom and the Indigenous Languages (Philippines 2019), Experiments with Truth (India 2018), Reclaiming Truth in Times of Propaganda (Ukraine 2017).
At the end of every congress, PEN Centres adopt new Congress Resolutions on the greatest threats to freedom of expression today.
Photo by Staffan Claesson
90th PEN International Congress: Literature and Memory
The theme of PEN International’s 90th Annual Congress is ‘Writers in a World at War’. Through meetings and events between 24th and 27th September, PEN delegates from over 90 countries across five continents, will discuss key questions against the backdrop of current global crises, including the importance of the PEN Charter, 'promoting the value of literature', and the future of PEN’s principles and solidarity mission for generations to come.
Our Congress
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‘Writers in a World at War’, PEN International’s 90th Annual Congress in Oxford, UK, 24–27 Sept 2024.
This year, PEN delegates from over 90 countries will discuss key questions against the backdrop of current global crises, including the importance of the PEN Charter, ‘promoting the value of literature’, and the future of PEN’s principles and solidarity mission for generations to come. -
PEN International’s 89th Annual Congress took place between 26-28th September 2023 online. The theme was The Truth of Fiction and the Fiction of Reality and delved into, questioned, and confronted the evolving notions of truth and reality in our contemporary world, set against the backdrop of a growing tide of misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.
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PEN International’s 88th Congress: THE POWER OF WORDS – Future Challenges for Freedom of Expression took place in Uppsala from 27 September – 1 October 2022, hosted by Swedish PEN. The week-long programme brought together 400 writers from over 100 PEN Centres, to debate, challenge and reinterpret PEN’s understanding of issues such as hate speech, digital surveillance, climate change, war and post-conflict, as well PEN’s work moving forward.
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PEN International held its 87th Centenary Congress, from 20‒24 September 2021. Themed One Hundred Years of Intellectual Debate and Activism on Freedom of Expression and Literature, it celebrated the organisation’s first 100-year anniversary.
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PEN International held its 86th Annual Congress, its first-ever digital Congress and marked the beginning of our one-year journey towards PEN’s Centenary in 2021.
2020 has been a challenging year in many respects, particularly for freedom of expression as the global COVID-19 pandemic locked borders, restricted travel, with many governments taking advantage of the situation to impose further limits on free expression.
From 2 to 6 November 2020, 296 participants from 90 PEN Centres gathered online to examine and debate the challenges to free expression around the world.
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From 30 September until 4 October 2019, more than 200 writers and PEN members gathered in Manila, Philippines for the 85th annual PEN Congress - ‘Speaking in Tongues’ - centred on literary freedom and the promotion of indigenous languages.
Writers from over 50 countries from across the world came together to promote and celebrate linguistic Public report on the 85th Congress in Manila, Philippines.diversity, highlight cases of imprisoned writers and discussed PEN’s response to the increasing challenges facing free expression across the world today.
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The 84th PEN International Congress closed on 29th October 2018 in Pune, India with a focus on the critical situation for freedom of expression in India, the representation and voices of women in literature and the life and legacy of Mohandas Gandhi and his wife Kasturba.
More than 400 writers from over 80 countries gathered in Pune for the annual PEN Congress, for a week of debates, literary events and workshops.
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The 2017 Congress, hosted by PEN Ukraine, was attended by over 200 writers and PEN members from 60 Centres across the globe.
An extensive programme of public events was held across the city and online, around themes that included history and memory, rights of women and equality, cyber provocations, truth and fake news, and threats to freedom of speech across the world. Prominent guests included Madeleine Thien, Paul Auster, Philippe Sands, Adam Zagajewski, Yaroslav Hrytsak, David Patrikarakos, Andrei Kurkov and many more.
Public Report of the 83rd PEN International Congress in Lviv, 2017.
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The 82nd PEN International Congress in Ourense, Spain took place from the 26th September – 2nd October 2016 with a focus on the situation for freedom of expression in Galicia, creating the cultural bridges (with focus on Ibero-America), and the representation and voices of writers who are persecuted for their sexual orientation (Outwrite project).
