Overview
- PEN America named Phil Klay president and chair of its board of trustees on Thursday, September 17, 2026.
- Klay succeeds Dinaw Mengestu, who resigned in July after a PEN report about Israeli and Jewish writers drew criticism that the organization had not defended Palestinian writers equally.
- Klay is a National Book Award–winning author, Iraq War veteran, longtime PEN trustee and director of Fairfield University’s MFA program, and he has publicly both criticized Israeli policies in Gaza and supported PEN’s study of cultural isolation.
- The appointment follows two years of internal unrest that led to cancellations of PEN events, the departure of CEO Suzanne Nossel, the installation of co-CEOs Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf and Summer Lopez, and heated debate over cultural boycotts and how PEN defends free expression.
- PEN’s leaders say Klay’s role is to stabilize governance and rebuild member trust, and observers will watch whether his selection leads to restored programming and renewed conversations across the organization’s divided membership.