Congratulation!

To one of our own who is leading the way as usual out front. She had a New York Times Best Seller, she worked for the New York Times, she is a college professor and she was one of Oprah's Book Club top picks and was on her show many times. And now...

Jennifer Finney Boylan, Transgender Author & Advocate, Elected President of PEN America
The renowned LGBTQ+ advocate and author was elected to lead the organization that’s fighting for free expression.
The Advocate
By Christopher Wiggins
December 12, 2023

Author and queer rights activists Jennifer Finney Boylan has been elected president of PEN America, an organization that has been vocal against book bans in schools and libraries across the country.

”As PEN president, it is my job to fight for free expression on the right and the left,” she said, according to The New York Times. “I’m an author. I’m a writer. And at this perilous moment, I am really going to try to fight for everybody as best I can.”

She'll now lead the board of trustees as bans continue to increase.

Boylan, who is transgender and had previously served as the vice president of the PEN board, has authored 18 books, including memoirs about her experiences as a transgender woman. She highlighted the impact of storytelling, saying, “Hearts are opened. Minds are changed by the power of storytelling.

And that’s why there are people now trying to ban books.”

Boylan’s appointment as president of PEN America holds significant implications for the LGBTQ+ community and advocates for freedom of expression. More and more libraries and school districts in GOP-led states have banned books and removed publications from shelves — even The Advocate's sibling publication Out was removed from a library in Pennsylvania.

[…]

Her presidency at PEN America serves as a reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ rights goes hand-in-hand with the fight for free speech, creating a more inclusive and equitable society for all LGBTQ+ individuals.

Our paths have cross many times.

Jennifer Finney Boylan to Lead PEN America
The author and L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocate will take the helm of the free expression organization at a time when challenges to books and to free speech are on the rise.
The New York Times
By Elizabeth A. Harris
December 11, 2023

Jennifer Finney Boylan, an author and L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocate, was elected on Monday president of PEN America, one of the most significant organizations defending free speech in the country. She will lead the PEN board of trustees at a time when challenges to books and free expression are on the rise.

“As PEN president, it is my job to fight for free expression on the right and the left,” Boylan said. “I’m an author. I’m a writer. And at this perilous moment, I am really going to try to fight for everybody as best I can.”

Boylan, who had been the vice president of the PEN board, has written 18 books, including novels, thrillers and two best-selling memoirs, “She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders” and “I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted,” on her experiences as a transgender woman. She also was a national co-chair of GLAAD, an L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group, and a contributing opinion columnist for The New York Times.

In an interview, Boylan talked about her new position, which has previously been held by authors including Salman Rushdie, Jennifer Egan and most recently, Ayad Akhtar. What follows are edited excerpts from the conversation.

They couldn’t have pick a better person to be one of the leaders!