‘All my experience as a woman of Scottish background leads me to believe that the principles of PEN are especially natural to the Scottish character with its independent mindedness, its will to sincerity in public affairs, its sense of our unquestionably being born free.’
Muriel Spark

Scottish PEN’s Women Writers committee helps to support women throughout the world whose writings are threatened. In Scotland we work for fairer treatment of all writers through

• Supporting threatened writers

• Campaigning against gender bias

• Promoting and celebrating women’s writing

Scottish PEN has produced a poster featuring 100 Scottish women writers.

We hold an annual Naomi Mitchison memorial event, in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

Beginning in 2006, PEN members have given readings to mark International Women’s Day. The 2006 and 2007 readings featured translations, by PEN members, of women writers from Catalonia, France, Switzerland, former East Germany, Italy, Romania and Finland.

Look out for:

Naomi Mitchison event November 2009

China Inside-Out: a celebration of Chinese Women Writers in English to mark International Women’s Day, March 2010