PEN America, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of literature and human rights, is offering a 12-week professional Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program for undergraduate and graduate students passionate about human rights, the written word, and free expression in the United States and worldwide. This opportunity will allow students to work closely with a professional from PEN America’s Free Expression Programs team on a particular issue track, including Artists at Risk Globally; Digital Safety; Free Expression Advocacy in Washington, D.C.; Freedom to Read; Next Gen PEN America; Campus Free Speech; Free Expression Research; Free Expression in Eurasia; Free Expression in the United States; and Writers at Risk Globally. Each of these tracks will provide a unique and rich learning experience with opportunities to conduct research; draft advocacy materials, press releases, memos, and briefing papers; and support major advocacy campaigns and events for PEN America.

In addition to their track-related tasks and mentoring, the cohort of fellows will also attend weekly meetings to discuss brewing free speech issues in their fields of interest and analyse how a non-profit advocacy organisation can mobilise against contemporary threats to free expression. Biweekly professional development and skills-training workshops with PEN America staff members will be offered to enhance fellows’ career preparedness. Fellows will also be required to publish an original research project in the Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program Anthology. Fellows will receive a $3,150 stipend, distributed in three payments over the course of the program contingent upon successful participation. This program may be eligible for college credit, depending on the participant’s institution.

Our summer fellowship program will be based remotely out of PEN America’s offices located in New York City and Washington D.C. The option to work onsite in our offices during the program will be determined according to public health guidelines at the time of the fellowship. Applicants outside of New York City and Washington D.C. may still apply to participate in the program virtually. Fellows will work alongside their mentors to set their weekly hours, which must occur within PEN America’s weekday operating hours of 9am to 6pm ET.  Applicants with only weekend and evening availability should not apply to the fellowship. Fellows may express interest in up to three program tracks in their application, but will be assigned to only one program area for the duration of their fellowship. 

Candidates representing diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

PROGRAM DATES:

The Summer 2024 Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program will run for 12 weeks from Monday, June 3, 2024 through Friday, August 23, 2024, with a mandatory virtual orientation on Friday, May 24, 2024. Built into the schedule is an unpaid week of vacation to be taken at the fellow’s discretion. 

FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS:

• Proof of authorization to work in the United States
• 15 hours/week commitment, with specific work schedule to be determined between fellows and their mentors
• Attend a Friday, May 24, 2024 orientation from 12pm to 1pm ET and 12 weekly leadership seminars with their cohort every Wednesday from 12pm to 1pm ET
• Attend five biweekly professional development workshops held on Wednesdays from 3pm to 4pm ET
• Participate in the creation of a final project

BONUS — CAMPUS ADVOCATES PROGRAM:

• PEN America is also pleased to announce the Campus Advocates Program, an extension to the Summer 2024 fellowship that will run through December, 2024. This opportunity invites undergraduate students who are passionate about free expression an academic freedom on college and university campuses to: conduct research on campus free speech; participate in a Free Expression Fellows Summit and Higher Education and Democracy Summit; and lead advocacy campaigns on their own college campus during the Fall 2024 semester. Applicants to the Summer 2024 Free Expression Leadership Fellows Program are encouraged to apply to the Campus Advocates program. Please read more here. 

DESIRED ATTRIBUTES:

• Strong research and analytical skills
• Keen logistical eye for details and excellent organisational skills
• Superb writing skills, including the ability to craft clear, user-friendly language
• Strong familiarity with social media platforms
• Knowledge of U.S. or global human rights and free expression issues
• Interest or experience in law, journalism, or tech industry is valuable
• Fluency in G Suite, particularly with Google Drive document management; familiarity with Google Sheets is valuable
• Regional/country expertise in Eurasia (especially Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Central Asia), Southeast Asia , Middle East & North Africa, Latin America or China valuable for regional work
• Language skills especially Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Arabic, and Farsi are a plus
• High energy and efficiency
• Strong work ethic
• Strong interpersonal skills and an aptitude for collaboration, creativity, and initiative
• Commitment to the principles of free expression
• Video, audio, and/or web production experience is a plus
• Knowledge of contemporary debates over free speech on college campuses is a plus 

TO APPLY:

Please submit your application through our online application portal on Submittable. You will be prompted to create a free Submittable account in order to access the application form and upload your materials. All applications must be received on or before Monday, April 22, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis. Decisions will be announced by the week of May 13, 2024. Please send any questions about the program or how to apply to Leila Markosian at lmarkosian@pen.org.

PEN America does not discriminate in its selection practices, and in order to build the strongest possible team, actively seeks a diverse applicant pool.

No phone calls, please.

ABOUT PEN AMERICA:

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible.

The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is intended to assist fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, translators, and journalists in addressing short-term financial emergencies. To be eligible, applicants must be professional writers based in the United States, and be able to demonstrate that this one-time grant will be meaningful in helping address a short-term emergency situation. The fund is limited, and not every application can be supported. Grant decisions are made on a quarterly basis by a volunteer committee of literary peers in consultation with PEN America staff, using the  following guidelines to evaluate professional credentials:

• Publication of one or more books. (Writers who are only self-published or published by a press that charges for publication are not eligible.)
• Multiple essays, short stories, or poems appearing in literary anthologies or literary journals (either online or in print) in the last two years.
• A full-length play, performed in a theater by a professional theater company. Productions in academic settings qualify if the author is not a student at the time of the production.
• Production of a motion picture project or a segment of television.
• Employment as a full-time professional journalist, columnist, or critic, or a record of consistent publication on a freelance basis in a range of outlets during the last two years.
• Contracted forthcoming books, essays, short stories, poems, or articles for which the name of the publisher can be provided.
• Other qualifications that support the applicant’s professional identity as a writer.

The U.S. Writers Aid Initiative is not intended to subsidize writing-related expenses, such as residencies, sabbaticals, computers, printing, shipping, travel, or publicity services.  Applications received on or before the following quarterly deadlines will be reviewed before the last day of that month. (For example, an application received on or before January 1, 2023 will be reviewed before January 30, 2023.)

Application deadlines for 2023, subject to change:

• January 1, 2024
• April 1, 2024
• July 1, 2024
• October 1, 2024

Writers currently enrolled in degree-granting programs are also not eligible. Writers do not have to be Members of PEN America to receive a grant, but all recipients of emergency funding will be given a complimentary one-year PEN America membership.

Please review all eligibility criteria before applying. We ask prior applicants to wait three years before reapplying to the fund and encourage applicants to be specific and thorough in presenting their case for support so that a proper evaluation of the application can be made. All complete applications will be reviewed, and all applicants will be notified of a grant decision. Not all applications will be supported, and the Committee’s decision is final. 

Questions may be addressed to writersfund@pen.org. 

NOTE: The Screenwriters Emergency Financial Assistance Fund has reached capacity for the first round of available funding. We are not currently accepting new applications. Please check back regularly for updates on that program. If you have any questions, please write to writersfund@pen.org.