Collection Overview

Summary
Arrangement
Description
Using the Collection

Note: some material may be restricted or offsite

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Subject Headings
History / Biographical Note

Collection Contents

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Series I: Mary Lee Settle and Other Early Records, 1976-1985, 2005
Series IV: Programs--Writers in Schools (WinS) (WINS), 1989-2018
Series V: Programs--Literacy and Other Programs, 1980-2019
Series VII: Business and Operational Records, 1985-2020
Series VIII: Financial Records, 1980-2021
Series IX: Press Clippings, 1989-2013
Series XI: Audiovisual Materials, 1987-2018

PEN/Faulkner Foundation records, 1976-2021

Summary Information

Abstract

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation gives out three major literary awards: the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and the PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. The Foundation also engages in literary and educational programming. The records include audio recordings, brochures, budgets, correspondence, financial records, invitations, minutes, photographs, planning files, programs, press files, reports, teacher and volunteer guidebooks, and video recordings.

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#2124
Bib ID:
17229256 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
31.61 Linear Feet (68 boxes: 57 document boxes, 2 ½ document boxes, 3 record cartons, 2 flat boxes, 2 audio cassette boxes, and 2 CD boxes)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Some records are restricted due to privacy laws related to personal information and student records.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least five business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

If you would like to use the digital photographs in Series X or the audiovisual materials in Series XI, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.

Digital files remain on their original disks and are not readily available for use; please contact the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.

Description

Content Description

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation gives out three major literary awards: the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and the PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion. The Foundation also engages in literary and educational programming. The records include audio recordings, brochures, budgets, correspondence, financial records, invitations, minutes, photographs, planning files, programs, press files, reports, teacher and volunteer guidebooks, and video recordings.

The collection documents PEN/Faulkner's awards, galas, literary programs, and other events through various records. The records include author files and correspondence, audio and video recordings, invitations, photographs, press clippings, programs, promotional materials, publications, remarks, and series brochures. These records provide information on the programs and events, and the content of many individual events is documented through publications, printed remarks, and recordings.

The records also include documentation of PEN/Faulkner's educational programs. The records in the collection primarily document the Writers in Schools program. These records include administrative files, brochures, grant files, guidebooks, photographs, planning records, a few recordings, school publications, author files, and school files. Most of the records for individual school visits are closed, as they contain records of individual students and their work, and are restricted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). While documentation is incomplete, there are records available for 1989-2018. The collection does not currently contain records related to Nuestras Voces, which was developed much more recently than the Writers in Schools program.

The collection also includes administrative records. The records include documentation regarding the founding of PEN/Faulkner and the early development of the organization and its transition to a non-profit arts organization in 1985. In addition, there are early records for the Board of Directors, as well as later correspondence, memoranda, minutes, planning documents, and policy documents. The records of the Board of Directors are most comprehensive for 1982-2010. In addition, the collection includes articles of incorporation, business licenses and applications, bylaws and revisions, 501(c)(3) verification, and records related to tax exemption. The collection also includes administrative and planning files related to PEN/Faulkner awards, galas, educational programs, and literary programs.

The administrative records include financial records. These records include budget and expenses records, ledgers, grant and fundraising files, investment management, tax filings and related documents, and miscellaneous subjects. The collection also includes financial records related to specific programs and events, particularly for the Writers in Schools program and the PEN/Faulkner Gala.

The Rare Book & Manuscript Library expects to receive digital records for 2018-present, which will provide more documentation of recent years. These records include author and board correspondence, photographs, and records related to awards, programs, events, education, administration, finances, marketing, and development.

Overall, the documentation available in the collection is incomplete and uneven across time periods. In general, there is good documentation for some time periods and less for others, not only for the records relating to the operations of the organization as a whole, but also for records related to authors, the board of directors, finances, and individual awards, programs, and events.

  • Series I: Mary Lee Settle and Other Early Records, 1976-1985, 2005

    This series includes early correspondence, planning notes, press, and programs, as well as some items related to Mary Lee Settle.

  • Series II: Board of Directors, 1982-2019

    This series includes correspondence, memoranda, minutes, and policy documents. Records are most comprehensive for 1982-2010.

  • Series III: Awards and Annual Gala, 1981-2020

    This series includes records related to the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, and their related award ceremonies and events. The series also contains records related to the PEN/Faulkner Gala, which was held annually from 1989-2019, but has not been held in recent years. These records include administrative records, correspondence, planning files, invitations, programs, citations, remarks, and related publications.

    The records do not currently include documentation of the Literary Champion Award, which was established in 2020 as part of the organization's 40th anniversary celebration.

  • Series IV: Programs--Writers in Schools (WinS) (WINS), 1989-2018

    This series contains records related to the Writers in Schools (WinS or WINS) program. This program arranges for authors to visit and also to provide books to students in Washington, D.C. schools. The series contains administrative files, brochures, grant files, guidebooks, photographs, planning records, school publications, author files, and school files.

    There are digital photographs and recordings related to the Writers in Schools program in Subseries X.2: Digital Photographs and Series XI: Audiovisual Materials.

    Most of the records for individual school visits are closed, as they contain records of individual students and their work, and are restricted under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The majority of the school visit records are related to Spingarn Senior High School and were provided by a single teacher, Vera Rosier.

  • Series V: Programs--Literacy and Other Programs, 1980-2019

    This series contains records related to individual events, event series, and collaborations with other organizations. The records include agreements and release forms, brochures, guest lists, invitations, programs, publicity, season brochures and fliers, and a few planning files.

  • Series VI: Author Correspondence and Files, 1983-2016

    This series contains two sets of author files. These files include correspondence, clippings, headshots, resumes, and promotional materials. These are primarily related to PEN/Faulkner events.

  • Series VII: Business and Operational Records, 1985-2020

    This series contains business and legal documents including agreements with the Folger Shakespeare Library, articles of incorporation, bylaws, business licenses and applications, 501(c)(3) verification, and records related to tax exemption.

    The records also include a communications plan (2009) and three manuals related to operations and program coordination (2017-2018), as well as some miscellaneous records.

  • Series VIII: Financial Records, 1980-2021

    These records include financial records for the operations of the organization. These records include budget and expenses records, ledgers, grant and fundraising files, investment management files, tax filings and related documents, and miscellaneous files.

    These records are not comprehensive. Budget and expense files are comprehensive for 1980-2000, but there is no coverage for the early 2000s. There are few tax records, such as the 990 forms, prior to 1998. The collection originally included 990 tax forms and some supporting records for 1998-2000, 2008-2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018. There are also some additional budget and ledger records for 2008-2017. The Rare Book & Manuscript Library printed additional 990 from Candid for 2001-2007, 2014, 2016, 2019-2021 and added them to the collection in Box 52.

    There are some additional financial records related to programs and events, particularly for the Writers in Schools program and the PEN/Faulkner Gala, included with the records in Series III, IV, and V.

  • Series IX: Press Clippings, 1989-2013

    This series was originally six binders of press clippings; the contents have been rehoused in folders. The six binders don't form one chronologically run. There appear to be three separate sets of two binders each, based on the dates on the labels of the individual binders. There is date overlap between the three sets. These clippings document the events and activities of PEN/Faulkner, as well as the activities of authors recognized with PEN/Faulkner awards.

  • Series X: Photographs, 1983-2015, undated

    This series includes contact sheets, digital photographs, negatives, and photographic prints.

    The images are primarily from awards ceremonies, galas, and other events; a few are group photographs of the board or staff. Most photographs are labeled at least at a group level with the name of the event, the author, and a date. Many photographs also include credit information for the photographer.

    There are photographic prints directly related to the Writers in Schools program filed in Series IV: Programs--Writers in Schools, as well as two CDs of photographs in Boxes 61 and 68.

    There is also a collection of author headshots provided to PEN/Faulkner by the authors in Box 59; there are additional headshots in the Author Files in Subseries VI.2.

  • Series XI: Audiovisual Materials, 1987-2018

    This series contains audio recordings of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, Gala, readings, literary programs, and other events. These recordings are on either audiocassettes, digital audio tapes, MiniDiscs, or CD-Rs.

    The collection also contains some video recordings, primarily on VHS and MiniDV videocassettes. These include recordings of the Gala, events, and other items.

    There are also some promo videos and items related to Writers in Schools.

    The collection includes 1-2 copies of each recording. In addition, there appears to be some duplication of recordings between media formats.

Arrangement

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

Some records are restricted due to privacy laws related to personal information and student records.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least five business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

If you would like to use the digital photographs in Series X or the audiovisual materials in Series XI, please contact the library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.

Digital files remain on their original disks and are not readily available for use; please contact the Rare Book & Manuscript Library in advance of your visit to discuss access options.

Conditions Governing Use

Single reproductions may be made for research purposes. It is the responsibility of the user to secure permission for publication or use from the appropriate copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); PEN/Faulkner Foundation records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Additions are expected. Digital records, 2018-present, are expected.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchase via Gerald W. Cloud Rare Books, 2023

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Catherine C. Ricciardi in 2023-2024. Finding aid written by Catherine C. Ricciardi in March 2024.

This collection contained some records that were not retained by the Library. These include routine financial records such bank statements, and raw financial records such as check requests, insurance policies, invoices, receipts, and routine system transaction records. These financial records are generally duplicated in the budget and expense reports, ledgers, and tax records. Records related to human resources and personnel including payroll and benefits records for individual employees, performance reviews, and personnel files were also not kept in the collection.

Revision Description

2024-03-08 Finding aid created by Catherine C. Ricciardi.

Biographical / Historical

The PEN/Faulkner Award was founded in 1980 by author Mary Lee Settle, in response to the controversy regarding the 1979 National Book Award and the perception that literary prizes were becoming too commercialized. The award was named for William Faulkner, who had used his Nobel Prize funds to establish a prize for younger writers, and PEN, the international writers' organization. The award winners would be chosen by other authors, so that the selections would be free of publishing industry influences and popular trends.

At first, the award was originally administered by PEN at the University of Virginia, where Settle was teaching at the time. In 1983, Dr. O.B. Hardison Jr., then the Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., offered to house the administration of the award within the library. The PEN/Faulkner Foundation was created shortly thereafter, and established its headquarters in the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation continued the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and added two additional awards: the PEN/Bernard and Ann Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, established in 1988, and the PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion, established in 2020 as part of the Foundation's 40th anniversary.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation also expanded beyond literary prizes and developed both literary and educational programs. It started a series of public fiction readings in 1983, which has evolved into its Literary Conversations series in recent years. The Foundation launched its first education program, Writers in Schools, in 1989. This program arranges for authors to visit and also to provide books to students in Washington, D.C. schools. In 2017, the Foundation established Nuestras Voces, to bring Latinx and Hispanic authors to Latinx- and Hispanic-centric versions of their education programs to students in these schools. The Foundation also offers writing workshops and other programs.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Name
Settle, Mary Lee CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Literary prizes CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID