English PEN’s annual PEN Lecture invites a leading writer to reflect on the current state of free expression, and to explore the resonance – or dissonance – of the words of the PEN Charter, the guiding principles of the organisation, with our current reality.
The 2026 PEN Lecture will be delivered by award-winning writer?Max Porter on 29 April 2026, at the Curtis Auditorium, Newcastle, in partnership with New Writing North and the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts.
Porter will reflect on the PEN Charter, which has guided and unified PEN centres across the world since 1948. Forged from the ashes of World War Two, the PEN Charter calls for the “unhampered transmission of thought”, “declares for a free press and opposes arbitrary censorship in time of peace”, opposes the “mendacious publication, deliberate falsehood, and distortion of facts for political and personal ends”, and affirms that “literature knows no frontiers, and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheaval”.
In an era of upheaval and conflict, Porter will ask what place these principles hold in our society, reflecting particularly on the Charter’s phrase “in time of peace”.
After delivering his lecture, he will be in conversation with award-winning writer and NCLA Director Preti Taneja.
Date: 29 April 2026 - Doors: 5.30pm Event: 6–7.30pm Book signing: 7.30–8pm
Location: Curtis Auditorium, Herschel Building, Newcastle, NE1 7RY
Cost: Standard £10 / Concession £5 / Solidarity £20
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