JUNE 2005
Welcome to the PENJune newsletter.For the latest information from English PEN, please visit our home page, Past monthly newsletters are available on the website on If you don’t want to receive the newsletter please email with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line. Also, if you know of someone who would prefer a hard copy, please let Simon know. PEN’s address is: English PEN, 6 – 8 Amwell Street, LondonEC1R 1UQ, and the phone number is 020 7713 0023.
The President and Executive of English PEN
have great pleasure in inviting you to their
annual SUMMER PARTY and PRIZEGIVING
The Summer Party will take place on Tuesday 12th July in the slightly surreal but uniquely charming surroundings of the Dissenters’ Chapel in Kensal Green cemetery. The cemetery itself, in case you don’t know it, is an intensely beautiful place. Many fascinating people are buried there. As usual Henry Vivian-Neal will be on hand to give a tour of the graveyard before the party. As I remember from last year, this can be a hot experience as well as an intriguing one, so if you are signing up for the tour, please remember to bring a hat. PEN’s prizes will be awarded during the party, a string quartet will delight your ear, and a mystery list of Celebrity Waiters will be on hand to see that your glass is never empty. The tour of the cemetery will begin at 5pm, from the Harrow Road entrance. It will make its way through the cemetery to the Chapel, where the party itself will begin at 6pm. If you plan to come to just the party, as many people do, please remember that the entrance to the Dissenters’ Chapel is in Ladbroke Grove. Past Sainsbury’s Superstore, across the canal, through a door on the right, much where the A of Ladbroke Grove is on the map. Follow the sounds of happiness and you will find us.Tickets cost £15. As usual please book through the office.For full details and a map of how to get to the venue please see .
The President and Membership of English PEN extends its heartiest congratulations to Ismail Kadare on his winning the first Man Booker International Prize for Literature.
PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT:
A year ago I rather dreaded going to any kind of literary event, because if I did there would always be someone who came up to me to tell me how to handle the problems of our organisation. These had been aired in two or three not entirely accurate articles in the press. The people who bearded me in this way did so with the best of intentions,of course, but there was a disquieting undertow in what they asked, best summed up by the well-known novelist who simply asked me Why PEN? What's it for? Our internal dissensions were driving some members away - fortunately not many - and others were beginning to ask fundamental questions about our purpose and usefulness. The solution seemed to be threefold: to appeal to our members for moderation; for the Executive and management of the organisation to own up toits shortcomings; and forEnglish PEN to take a long hard look at its finances, its organisational structure and its constitution.
Magically, it worked. It was as thougheveryone involved in English PEN had peeredover the edge of an abyss and decided that the view was not enticing. By thetime of the AGM at the end of the year, a most constructive and good-humoured affair, we were once again on course. I cannot thank our members enough. A fellowship of writers is never going to agree on everything, and some of the concerns of a year agoare still around. But we have many new members, a re-invigorated Executive Committee with some younger participants, andareduced staff costing less but delivering as much.
English PEN's finances are not in crisis, but they are dependent on fund-raising. We need more core income. What we would do without the grant we now receive from Arts Council of England I dread to think. In my day as Director of Literature at the Arts CouncilI could only give occasional project grants to English PEN. It did not meet the organisational and access criteria which it has now achieved. The most pressing need in English PEN is to improve its financial base. Every little helps, which is why we are reminding our members that we would be happy to receive their piggy banks when they die!Please see for details.
The new mood in English PEN has led to much more activity. Our events programme in London has been stunning, thanks to Deborah Moggach and her team.Lisa Appignanesi, the best Deputy President I could have had, has been astonishing in her commitment to the No Offence campaign, which I am sure was the main agent in seeing the draft bill against incitement to religious hatred modified in the version that is now going through Parliament. English PEN is still opposed to this bill, which we believe will create more difficulties than it resolves. The Campaign’s next step will be to lobby the House of Lords after the bill’s successful passage through the Commons. Meanwhile, the Writers in Prison Committee is continuing its battle on behalf of the Congolese playwright Jean-Louis Ntadi, who is fighting repatriation. For an excellent article on this case see Terence Blacker’s column in The Independent on Tuesday14 June. Our Readers and Writers Programme, and our work in espousing the importance of translation, continue to be vigorous. There is much more to celebrate, not least the range and perkiness of this newsletter, which Simon Burt compiles so well.
I was asked the other day if I am an optimist or a pessimist. I think I am a pessopist. I always imagine the worst will happen and thenvery often experience the best in human nature. That's been my story this year. English PEN has turned round just as the icebergs were glimpsed on the horizon. This has not been my doing, or the Deputy President’s, or any single person's. It has been the achievement of all of us, whether members, staff or volunteers. A collectiveKasugta to one and all - that's Greenlandic for Ta ever so and cheers!
NEWS OF CAMPAIGNS:
Free Expression is No Offence:You will have heard that the Government's Racial and Religious Hatred Bill was passed by the House of Commons, though only by 56 votes. On the day before the Bill's second reading, Ian McEwan, Hari Kunzru, Rowan Atkinson, Nicholas Hytner alltook part in a press conference together with Shami Chakrabatti of Liberty, Lib Dem MP Evan Harris in the Chair, Dominique Grieve (Conservative) and Bob Marshall-Andrews (Labour). The arguments against the Bill, and for free expression which would protect all faiths and none, were well covered by the media.
Despite the vote on the second reading, the BATTLE IS NOT OVER. The bill now goes to committee wherethere is time for the liberal democrat amendment, supported bythe Tories and some Labour backbenchers to influence the shape of theultimate legislation. Please carry on writing to your MPs,particularly if they're Labour, to tell them PEN is behind the Lester amendment - which would protect Muslims by outlawing incitement where religion is clearly acting as a proxy for race, but would do so without harming our basic freedom of expression. The more Labour MPs we can get to abstain or vote against at the report stage, the more chance we have of influencing the ultimate shape of the legislation.
Lisa Appignanesi
PRIZES:
The Golden Pen Award for a lifetime’s contribution to literature will be awarded at the Summer Party on July 12th
The shortlist for the Ackerley Prize for biography is as follows: Arguments with England by Michael Blakemore (Faber & Faber), Ghosting by Jennie Erdal (Canongate), Half an Arch by Jonathan Gathorne-Hardy (Timewell Press), The Smoking Diaries by Simon Gray (Granta), Swimming with My Father by Tim Jeal (Faber & Faber). The judges also found exceptional merit in The View from Downshire Hill by Elizabeth Jenkins (Michael Russell), published in her hundredth year, and Germs by Richard Wollheim (The Waywiser Press), published after his death.
The shortlist for the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History is as follows:The Dictators by Richard Overy (Allen Lane); Inside Hitler’s Bunker by Joachim Fest, translated by Margot Bettauer Denbo(Macmillan); The Boys’ Crusade by Paul Fussell (Weidenfeld & Nicolson); Salonica, City of Ghosts by Mark Mazower (HarperCollins); The Fourth Crusade by Jonathan Phillips (Jonathan Cape)
The 2004/5 David Wong Prize was announced in Bled this month. The Prize was awarded to Sefi Atta, an African American for her story Twilight Trek, entered via the African Writers Abroad Centre. The judges, David Lodge, Caryl Phillips and Eva Hoffman were unanimous. Many congratulations to her.
We are, though, still a bit proud of our selection for the prize. Down The Market by Selma Dabbagh will be appearing on the Scratchpad shortly.
MEMBERS’ NEWS
We are very pleased to congratulate Frances Spalding, Martyn Goff, William Boyd and Caroline Moorehead on being honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year.
We are delighted to welcome recent new members/friendsClare Short, Alice Blondel, Jill Dawson,Helen Chadwick, Jean Seraphin Kamdem, Penny Cherns, Amer Nazir, David Ashton, Russell Celyn Jones, David Harsent, Peter Hobbs, Jon Snowand Simon Beckett.
On the Scratchpad this monthThree Poems by Yvonne Green. See for details.
For a most useful article by Hon Treasurer Barry Kernon on what is or is not an allowable expense for tax purposes, please see
For a form of words for a codicil to your will leaving a bequest to English PEN, please see
Help! Someone their bank refers to only as Woolwich 219402953 continues generously to send us money. I would dearly love to know who it is.
Help Again! People have started sending me cheques. This is lovely. I’m as fond of a cheque as the next man. It would be most helpful, though, if you could attach a covering slip to the cheque, letting me know what it is for. Just for our books, you understand.
Roger Graef of Films of Record would like to draw two new programmes to your attention: The first, This World: Blood and Land, about the murder of more than 1500 white farmers in South Africa over the past decade, will be broadcast at 9pm on Tues 5th July on BBC2. The second, This World, Property to Die For, about the scams in free market Russia that mean that anyone’s house, flat or business may be stolen from them, will be broadcast at 9pm on Tues 19 July on BBC2. For more details, see
Tony Bradman is looking for a few last submissions to his anthology of stories about Asylum Seekers. He has had an excellent response, but there is still some room for a couple more stories. See for details.
Terence Blacker has won the 10th Angus Book Award for his novel Boy2Girl. For a report on the award, and a fetching picture of the writer, see
Dr Leo Aylenhas been asked by the Sherston Festival to judge their poetry competition. The theme of the competition is Peace. The deadline is Friday September 2nd. The 1st prize is £250, the 2nd £150, and the 3rd £100.There is an entry fee of £3 per poem. Download rules and entry form from
Mary Elsy’s latest travel book, Pedals and Petticoats, published by Summersdale in May, tells of a journey undertaken by her, her sister and two friends through a still war-weary western Europe in 1951. Travelling on a shoe-string budget (£65 each), using bicycles and a tent, they visited seven countries, covering some three thousand miles. Their adventures were many …
Munayem Mayenin would like to refer you to The Poets Letter on
Dawn Lowe-Watson’s new Radio 4 play (Her 15th or 16th) is in the can and should be going out on August 22nd, at the usual p.m. time of 2.15. It is called Fog and Shifting Pebbles, and the director, as most often, is Cherry Cookson.
Hafan Books, set up by Tom Cheesman to raise money for refugees in Wales, has just published a third anthology of writing by refugees, side by side with other writers in Wales. Soft Touch includes poetry, fiction and testimony by some 40 writers. Details of contents andlaunch events, and an order form, can be found at
Vivien Allen would like you to visit her website on
Miriam Moss is publishing several new books in 2005, notably Bare Bear, Spotty Dotty and This is The Oasis. For details of these and others of her well-known children’s books see
Clive Murphy is publishing Lust and Malice, his fourth book of verse, with Brick Lane Books in August 2005. For more about Clive Murphy, one of our wittiest writers, and Brick Lane Books see
Clare Colvin would like to bring to your attention: 7 Day Wonder Holidays , 12-19 September 2005, Creative Writing in Catalunya. Writing Fiction with Clare Colvin. At La Bisbal, near Girona, Spain. A Holiday with lectures, discussions, writing exercises in the morning, space for students’ own writing, one to one tutorials. Time to enjoy the house & gardens and explore the local towns & nearby Costa Brava. £550 per person. Holidays priced for individual travelers. Discount offered for people willing to share a room. For Further Information - email Lee or Zoe at . Or phone 0871 734 1165 (calls charged at 10p per minute in the UK) Website:
Don’t forget that details of members news and recent publications are on the website on
And yourMembership Secretary would like you to read: The Laughter of Triumph; William Hone and the Fight for the Free Press by Ben Wilson (Faber). Like many Radicals of his generation William Hone matured into the rather less than radical. In the beginning, though, he was wonderful. He was a satirist. His weapon was laughter. His work kept the People in stitches, and the Government in a rage. Unlike our own enlightened rulers, the Government then was no believer in Free Speech. They prosecuted Hone with the full force and majesty of what they thought of as the law. Hone defended himself with his usual weapon. Hours of engrossing reading. Is a laugh Treason? Surely not.
Finally, I find I can’t go without mentioning two special joys for this month: First, the publication by Hamish Hamilton of Quicksands, A Memoir, by that master of impressionist prose, Sybille Bedford. A new book by this fine writer is a great treasure. Second, the publication by Little, Brown of Tigers in Red Weather, by Ruth Padel. The tiger finds its ideal narrator.
EVENTS
A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY:Monday 5th Sept. Eminent novelist Salman Rushdie will be discussing his latest book, Shalimar the Clown, due to be published in mid-September, with PEN’s Deputy President Lisa Appignanesi, in The Bloomsbury Theatre. Rushdie’s latest novel is an epic narrative that moves from California to Kashmir, Nazi-occupied Europe to a world of modern terrorism. It is a tale of murder, love and revenge that captures the spirit of a troubled age. Booking details to follow.
Recordings of our recent evens are gradually becoming available. Watch this space.
The first season of Adam Street events is now over. The Autumn season will begin in September. Look out for details which will follow in our next snail mailing, due shortly.
For a link to a report on our recent celebration of Henry James, with Miranda Seymour and Alan Hollinghurst, please see
OTHER EVENTS:
Scriptwriting Magazine would like to draw your attention to their continuing series of masterclasses next month,with Julian Friedmann on Inventing Stories and Treatments, and Nic Ransome providingGenre Seminars – for full details please click on
EXILED WRITERS INK presents Neither Here Nor There, an event with Nathalie Teitler, Maggie Harris, Mimi Khalvati, Kapka Kassabova and Adrianna Diaz Encisco. NB: This event takes place tonight. See details.
WRITERS IN PRISON
The WiPC Chair and Programme Director have just returned from the 71st International PEN Congress held in Bled, Slovenia 14-21 June 2005. Please contact if you would like a fuller report of the WiPC/Writers in Exile sessions at the Bled Congress.
Report from Bled:
There are now 63 PEN centres with Writers in Prison Committees.
The long-standing discussion about changing the name of the International PEN Writers in Prison Committee and its acronym WiPC was brought to a vote, resulting in a decision to retain the name under which we have become known in many parts of the world.
The Committee submitted over 20 resolutions, including some in-session ones, to the Assembly after discussing and carefully revising them in regional working groups that were formed during the second of our meetings. All of the resolutions were approved, many of them unanimously. The final versions of these resolutions will be available on the International PEN website home page as from 27 June. A resolution was proposed by English PEN in the Writers in Exile meeting (and passed by the Assembly) on behalf of Jean-Louis N’Tadi. This will be used by English PEN to put further pressure on the British Government to allow Ntadi to remain in the UK.