P.E.N. American Center is the American branch of an international organization of writers which includes poets, playwrights, editors, essayists and novelists.
The PEN Translation Fund was established by PEN America in the summer of 2003 through a gift from an anonymous donor in response to "the dismayingly low number of literary translations currently appearing in English." Its purpose is to promote the publication and reception of translated world literature in English. Over the seven years of its existence (to 2010), the Fund has given grants to a total of 72 translations from 30 languages, including Armenian, Basque, Estonian, Farsi, Finland-Swedish, Lithuanian and Mongolian, as well as French, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic.