We are proud to be hosting Irish PEN/ PEN na hÉireann at HNS 2026. Representatives will be at a stand in the conference bookshop during first break and lunchtime on Saturday 22nd August to talk about the work of the organisation and to encourage new members to join.

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann PEN is an entirely voluntary, all-Ireland organisation. A member organisation of PEN International, it was launched in November 2020, on the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, following the amalgamation of the original Irish PEN with the Freedom to Write Campaign (Ireland).

The aims of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann are:

• to promote literature in and about Ireland both nationally and internationally

• to defend worldwide the right of writers to responsible freedom of expression as defined in the PEN Charter

• to foster international understanding through the appreciation of literature

Irish PEN is a regular contributor to festivals such as Listowel, the John Hewitt International Summer School (Armagh) and the Dublin Book Festival. They hold events featuring the work of international writers who are under threat or in prison because of their writing and we campaign for linguistic rights and freedom of expression.

Campaigns which Irish PEN have supported in the past include Message for Margaret (Keane Family, Linguistic Rights Campaign, UK), Paola Ugaz (Peru), Narges Mohammadi (Iran), İlhan Sami Ҫomak (Turkey), as well as journalists under threat in the UK and Ireland. They have also promoted the work of cultural figures in Ukraine, notably the late Victoria Amelina.

More information is available at www.irishpen.com