This year's festival is now over! But come back to this page soon for photos of events and of our festival writers and, if you were not able to come this time, the chance to listen to some of the highlights ...

Meet the great writers you know and the great writers you don't ...
Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany speaks out on translation, engaged literature and why being a dentist makes him a better writer. Read more...
A conversation across seas and cultures about the land rights of indigenous people and giving voice to a place called home. Read more...
Emine Sevgi Özdamar discusses her novel 'The Bridge of the Golden Horn' Read more...
How can politics, poetry and life journeys come together to form new and powerful languages? Read more...
Sjón will be in conversation with Victoria Cribb, the translator of his novella, ‘The Blue Fox’ Read more...
Got a favourite insult or banned work? To insult or not to insult - where do you draw the line? Read more...
A celebration of the liberating power of stories and storytelling - three writers discuss how the world can act as a library for the imagination. Read more...
A journey through the writings and experiences of literary dissidents - Francisco Goldman, Perihan Magden and Abdellah Taïa. Read more...
Faïza will be giving a different spin to the festival theme, The Writer Next Door - talking about insiders, outsiders, and building a home in language. Read more...
If you can only attend one event at Free the Word!, step inside our ‘thimble' to savour the highlights. Read more...
Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak in conversation with Mike Bartlett, ('Artefacts'), and Andrew Steggall, director of The Old Vic's British-Iraqi bilingual version of 'The Soldier's Tale'. Read more...
International Futures gets right to the heart of International PEN's work, celebrating the great writers you know and the great writers you don't. Read more...
Rushdie will discuss his latest novel ‘The Enchantress of Florence’, as well as strong female protagonists and the role of the imagination in fiction. Read more...
Sponsored by



The John S. Cohen Foundation, The Foyle Foundation, The Robert Gavron Charitable Trust, The Garfield Weston Foundation,
International PEN Festival Founders.
Free the Word!
28 Mar 2008
Free the Word! brochure detailing all events in the festival is available to download.
Read more