International PEN - Definition and Overview

International PEN is an international fellowship of prominent writers and editors with more than 10,000 members and close to 130 centers worldwide, the largest of which is PEN American Center. As a major voice of the literary community the organization seeks to defend the freedom of expression wherever it may be threatened, and promote and encourage the recognition and reading of contemporary literature.

International PEN was conceived in 1921 by Mrs. C.A. Dawson Scott. The first P.E.N Club was founded shortly thereafter in London by Mrs. Scott and John Galsworthy, who would become International PEN's first President. They established the following aims:

1. To promote intellectual co-operation and understanding among writers;
2. To create a world community of writers that would emphasize the central role of literature in the development of world culture; and,
3. To defend literature against the many threats to its survival which the modern world poses.

There is held an International PEN Congresses at least once a year.