Goodreads asked Joanne Leedom-Ackerman:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman My book PEN Journeys: Memoir of Literature on the Line began as a serial blog. The global organization PEN International with 150+ centers in over 100 countries was about to celebrate its Centenary. I had been engaged with PEN for decades as President of a PEN center, Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee, as the International Secretary and as a Vice President. The President of PEN International asked if I’d write up memories to use for the Centenary. I began posting stories several times a month, beginning in May 2019 and finishing in October 2020. Many readers, including colleagues in PEN, urged that the stories become a book. Fortunately, Shearsman Books agreed, and PEN Journeys was published in February 2022.

The ideas behind my upcoming novel Burning Distance I’ll answer in future posts.

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