About the PEN International Women Writers Committee (PIWWC)

Why Have a Women Writers Committee?

The PEN International Women Writers Committee (PIWWC) exists to ensure that women’s voices are heard, preserved, and celebrated worldwide. Women writers continue to face barriers to freedom of expression, from censorship and harassment to lack of visibility in the literary canon.

Our Committee provides a platform to:

  • Defend women writers who are at risk

  • Promote the work of women authors across cultures

  • Advocate for equity and representation in the literary world

  • Build global solidarity through the shared power of words

By uplifting women’s stories, PIWWC strengthens freedom of expression everywhere.

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Our Mission

We champion women’s creativity and the right to write freely. Through advocacy, literary projects, and international collaboration, we seek to:

  • Highlight women writers on PEN’s Case List of persecuted and imprisoned authors
  • Provide visibility through initiatives like Know Her Words
  • Connect PEN Centres globally for joint campaigns, literary exchanges, and solidarity actions
  • Address intersections of gender with urgent global issues, including the climate crisis

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The Women Behind the Committee

Judyth Hill

Chair

Judyth Hill, poet, maestra, editor, author of nine books of poetry and the internationally acclaimed poem, Wage Peace, is Chair of the PEN International Women Writers Committee, Special Projects Director San Miguel Writers Conference, President Emerita of San Miguel PEN, and Managing Editor of Wild Rising Press.

Lucina Kathman

PIWWC President Emerita and current Historian

Lucina Kathmann was chair of the PIWWC from 1996 to 2000. She has been active on the PIWWC from before the committee was formally accepted in November 1991 to the present.

Sarah Lawson

PIWWC Secretary, English PEN member

Sarah Lawson, born in the USA but long resident in England, is a poet and translator and has been a member of English PEN since 1979, serving at various times on its board and its Writers-in-Prison Committees.

Olha Mukha

PIWWC Board

Cultural Diplomacy Advisor, Human Rights Advocate, Crisis Communications Senior Strategist in IN2 Programme Director in UAC - Lviv Head of Educational and Informational departments

Olha Mukha, PhD, is a cultural analyst and philosopher, cultural manager, curator and expert on international communication and human rights, and she is known for her extensive work in cultural diplomacy and human rights.

Wezi Glory Msukwa-Panje

PEN Malawi

Wezi Glory Msukwa-Panje is a Malawian poet and a celebrated children’s book author whose works are used in Malawian schools. She is also an editor, translator and passionate linguist, advocating for language preservation and promotion, literacy, creativity and linguistic diversity in schools of all education levels.

Tanja Tuma

PEN Slovenia and Vice-Chair of the Board of PEN Int.

Tanja Tuma is a publisher and writer, now president of PEN Slovenia and Vice-Chair of the Board of PEN International. She has worked for 25 years in the publishing and bookselling industry locally and internationally, but after 2010 she dedicated herself entirely to writing. She has published six novels, four in English and two in Slovenian.

Mahi Ramakrishnan

PEN Malaysia Centre President

Mahi Ramakrishnan is a consultant on forced migration and women, peace and security. She is also a poet and lives in Malaysia.

Sotiria Georganti

PEN Greece Secretary

Sotiria Georganti has studied Law and English Literature, writes literary reviews and takes interviews from prominent writers. She has been Chair of the PEN Greece WWC since 2022 and was elected General Secretary of PEN Greece in 2025

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