PEN/Faulkner brings writers and readers together to foster a literate, creative society. Perhaps best known for administering two preeminent awards for fiction, it also co-sponsors the Eudora Welty Lecture on a writer's beginnings, hosts a reading series that brings world-class authors to the District, and coordinates Writers in Schools (WinS), a free literary arts outreach program that brings nationally recognized authors into DC schools and provides 5,000 free copies of their books to 3,000 students a year. Author visits to youth in detention facilities in DC and Maryland and a book club for pregnant and parenting teens encourage a love of literature in those who have little access to enrichment programs. Author visits are personal encounters between living writers and young people who express astonishment that a “famous” writer has taken them seriously – and inspired in them a desire to write. You can inspire them, too.

Headquarters: DC-Ward 1

Where They Operate: DC-Citywide; MD-Montgomery County; MD-Prince George's County

Age Groups Served: Youth (5-11); Pre-teen/teen (12-17); Young adult (18-24)

Population(s) Served: Students


  • Number of books donated to low-income youth:   6,000
  • Number of local teaching artists, writers, and humanities professionals supported by PEN/Faulkner annually:   130
  • Number of DC public and charter schools student participants in Writers in Schools (WinS):   3,524

Awards & Recognition

n/a

Press

  • Eat, Pray, Love -- and Talk to Fans
    Mon Mar 30 2009  
    On March 27, 2009, PEN/Faulkner hosted a joint reading with the National Cathedral entitled "Divine Sanity: Thoughts on Creative Life," with international bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. Both the talk, and audience reactions, were incredibly moving.
    connect here

Budget (FY2016)

  • $3 million or higher
  • $1 million to $3 million
  • The current budget for PEN/Faulkner Foundation is: $500k to $1 million
  • Less than $500k

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About the Catalogue for Philanthropy

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