themselves to do their utmost to dispel race, class, and national hatreds and to champion the ideal of one humanity living in peace in the world. And since freedom implies voluntary restraint, members also pledge themselves to oppose such evils of a free press as mendacious publication, deliberate falsehood, and distortion of facts for political and personal ends. – from PEN's Founding Charter, New York City, 1922.Full membership in PEN America generally requires being a published writer with at least one work professionally published, or being a translator, agent, editor, or other publishing professional. There is also a "reader" tier of membership open to supporters from the general public, as well as a "student" membership. Notable members of PEN America past and present include: Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edward Albee, Maya Angelou, Paul Auster, James Baldwin, Saul Bellow, Giannina Braschi, Teju Cole, Don DeLillo, E.L. Doctorow, Roxane Gay, Langston Hughes, Barbara Kingsolver, Norman Mailer, Thomas Mann, Arthur Miller, Marianne Moore, Toni Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lynn Nottage, Grace Paley, Philip Roth, Salman Rushdie, Richard Russo, Sam Shepard, Susan Sontag, John Steinbeck, Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler, and Colson Whitehead. PEN Board of Trustees The PEN America Board of Trustees is composed of writers, artists, and leaders in the fields of publishing, media, technology, law, finance, human rights, and philanthropy. Jennifer Egan, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the 2018 Carnegie Medal for literary excellence, became president of PEN America in 2018. Egan was succeeded by Ayad Akhtar on December 2, 2020. Other members of the Board of Trustees Executive Committee are: Executive Vice President Markus Dohle, Vice President Masha Gessen, Vice President Tracy Higgins, Treasurer Yvonne Marsh, and Secretary Ayad Akhtar. Additional trustees are: Marie Arana, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Gabriella De Ferrari, Roxanne Donovan, Lauren Embrey, Nathan Englander, Jeanmarie Fenrich, Tom Healy, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger, Saeed Jones, Zachary Karabell, Sean Kelly, Franklin Leonard, Margaret Munzer Loeb, Erroll McDonald, Dinaw Mengestu, Sevil Miyhandar, Paul Muldoon, Alexandra Munroe, Christian Oberbeck, Michael Pietsch, Marvin S. Putnam, Theresa Rebeck, Laura Baudo Sillerman, Andrew Solomon, Jacob Weisberg, Jamie Wolf, and Hanya Yanagihara. The Chief Executive Officer of PEN America is Suzanne Nossel. Literature PEN America celebrates the written word with a nationwide series of events throughout the year. Many feature prominent authors who appear at festivals and on panel discussions, give lectures, and are featured at PEN America's Authors' Evenings. As a part of its