Pen Parentis

About Pen Parentis

Pen Parentis, Ltd. incorporated in 2014, is a 501c3 literary nonprofit organization that provides resources to authors who are also parents. John L Mix serves as Board President, with longtime Treasurer Irena Gecas and Andrew Meagher as Secretary. Jamie Clarke was the immediate past Board President, and she served for three terms. There are currently eleven Board members and 15 Advisory Board Members. Pen Parentis holds Guidestar Platinum Status. The organization has been the recipient of several New York City and State Arts grants. We are proud to have received our first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2023. In addition to its long-running Literary Salons which are online and open to the general public, Pen Parentis offers an annual $2000 Writing Fellowship for New Parents, as well as a Facebook group for members to network. History: In 2009, a distinctive downtown literary event held in the intimate upstairs library lounge of a Todd English restaurant gave rise to a collective of writers who have kids. Garnering attention from The New Yorker and New York Times as a critic's pick, M. M. De Voe rebranded the series as the Pen Parentis Literary Salons in 2013 and by 2014, Pen Parentis was incorporated to help writers stay on creative track (after having kids) as a 501c3 nonprofit with inaugural board of herself, Emily Speer (Ryan), and Michael Del Castillo. The salons are made possible in part with public funds through a Creative Engagement Grant, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Major support comes from The deGroot Foundation, Poetry Foundation, National Book Foundation and New York State Council on the Arts. Other partners include Poets&Writers, Random House, ConEd, LMHQ, Foundation Center, Michael C Allen CPAs, and Pace University. Pen Parentis owes everything to an inaugural grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation.

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