Registered charity number 1125610 Company number 05747142
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Contents
| Page(s) | |
|---|---|
| Legal and administrative details | 2 |
| Trustees’ annual report | 3 - 16 |
| Independent auditor’s report | 17 - 19 |
| Statement of financial activities | 20 |
| Balance sheet | 21 |
| Statement of cash flows | 22 |
| Notes to the financial statements | 23 - 35 |
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Legal and Administrative details
Registered office 24 Bedford Row London WC1R 4EH Registered charity number 1125610 Company number 05747142 (England and Wales)
Trustees
The Trustees, who are also directors of the company under Company Law, in office during the year and up to the date of signing the financial statements were:
L Beresford-Knox Appointed 25 January 2023 R Borthwick Appointed 19 March 2019, elected Chair 7 December 2021 (reappointed 8 December 2022) M Buyum Appointed 23 June 2020 (reappointed 7 December 2023) R Davis-Featherstone Appointed 30 January 2024 G Godwin Appointed 25 June 2019 (reappointed 8 December 2022) T Hodgkinson Appointed 23 June 2020 (reappointed 7 December 2023) G Lindvall Gunaratne Appointed 23 June 2020 (reappointed 7 December 2023) D Miller Appointed 1 October 2017 (reappointed 7 December 2021) D Nayeri Appointed 30 January 2024 N Parker Appointed 30 January 2024 A Schilz Appointed 19 October 2021 J Stocks Appointed 22 June 2021 V Yeginsu Appointed 26 January 2021 (reappointed 5 December 2024)
Honorary president M Busby (appointed 19 April 2023) Director D Gorman Independent auditors Knox Cropper LLP 65 – 68 Leadenhall Street London EC3A 2AD Bankers HSBC 76-78 Kings Road London SW3 4TZ Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Chair’s Report
It has been an honour to chair the Board of Trustees of English PEN through 2024/25. This has been a challenging year for freedom of expression and for human rights more broadly. The PEN movement is a global community united in its commitment to defend these rights for all – a mission that has never been more critical.
Across the world, a growing number of countries have abdicated their commitment to human rights principles and undermined the international order established under the United Nations system in response to the horrors of the Second World War. Authoritarianism is gaining ground, further undermining the right to freedom of expression. Writers are at mortal risk from the effects of conflict, autocracy and climate injustice. Human rights are under immense pressure, and lives and communities are being destroyed. Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza intensified throughout the year. Russia’s illegal attacks on Ukraine continued to devastate lives. Bloody conflict in Sudan has led to famine. Journalists remain deliberate targets across the globe. And here in the UK, human rights are being eroded, including the right to peaceful protest and intensifying attempts to strip away the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, and in particular trans and non-binary individuals.
English PEN has engaged across our programmes and in conversation with our communities to ensure we keep working towards our vision, one that celebrates the diversity of literature, and envisions a world with free expression and equity of opportunity for all readers and writers. This has taken different forms throughout the year, including through our campaigns, our work supporting and championing literature in translation, our various platforms including events, prizes, our online magazine and through our long-term work, often necessarily behind the scenes, with and for our colleagues in the UK and internationally.
Our Prizes in 2024/25 included the PEN Pinter Prize, which was shared between Arundhati Roy and Alaa Abd el-Fattah, and the PEN Hessel-Tiltman Prize won by Avi Shlaim for his memoir Three Worlds . We also were delighted to launch our newest prize, the PEN Heaney Prize in 2024. This was jointly launched by PEN na hÉireann/Irish PEN, the Seamus Heaney Estate and English PEN and won by Susannah Dickey at the inaugural ceremony in Belfast. Our events ranged from hosting Palestinian bookseller Mahmoud Muna at London’s Union Chapel to poetry events at Oxford’s Diverse Poetry Festival, reaching over 9,700 people through the year. Our online magazine PEN Transmissions grew as a democratic space for amplifying voices across borders and identities, and where emerging voices sit alongside major literary figures . In 2024, we were delighted to launch our focus on Young Voices , an ongoing area of work and engagement for English PEN.
Our campaigns included a focus on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and developing support for writers undergoing harassment in the UK. Our campaigns for individual writers included a focus on Alaa Abd el-Fattah and Jimmy Lai – British journalists and authors imprisoned internationally. We welcomed the long overdue release of Julian Assange, for whose freedom English PEN had long campaigned.
Providing support to write is also of critical importance to English PEN, and we hosted residencies for international authors in 2024/25, including for Ukrainian journalist Anna Romandash and PEN Belarus Director Taciana Niadbaj, who described these residencies as ‘ not only acts of solidarity but also investments in the future of global culture and freedom of expression’. Our translation work continued with PEN Translates and the more recently launched PEN Presents, which aims to address structural inequalities in the translation sector through funding the often-unpaid work of creating samples, giving UK publishers access to titles from underrepresented languages and regions, and helping diversify the translated literature landscape. We were delighted with the success of Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from the Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, which was one such title supported by both PEN Presents and PEN Translates, and which went on to be the first work translated from Kannada to appear on the International Booker Prize shortlist (and subsequently win the award in 2025).
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Chair’s Report (continued)
English PEN was honoured to work closely with PEN International and the wider PEN family on hosting the PEN Congress in September 2024 in Oxford. English PEN developed several related public events to coincide with PEN Congress at the Ashmolean Museum on topics, including the right to protest and to demonstrate solidarity.
Throughout this period, our dynamic staff team continued to drive English PEN’s work forward. I am deeply grateful to the entire team for their dedication, and to the Board of Trustees, whose unwavering commitment and guidance have been invaluable. And I also wish to express my profound gratitude to our distinguished President, Margaret Busby.
English PEN is a charity operating at the intersection of arts and human rights, and partnership is central to every piece of work that we undertake. We extend our sincere thanks to our members, our Patrons, our Silver PEN partners, our campaign collaborators, and our programme partners for their support for the organisation and our work.
Ruth Borthwick, Chair
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Director’s Report
It was once again my honour to lead English PEN as Director. This incredible organisation is very much the product of its parts, and I am privileged to witness on a daily basis the work of our deeply driven and highly effective team.
Against a backdrop of global conflict and the erosion of human rights, the need to defend the freedom of expression has never been more urgent. We are deeply grateful to our community of partners and funders who stand with us, supporting our mission to celebrate great literature and the transmission of ideas in myriad ways.
In particular, I would like to thank our core funders, Arts Council England, Hawthornden Foundation, and the T. S. Eliot Foundation. Thank you also to our Silver PEN partners, a community of corporate partners who share our core belief that everyone should have the freedom to read and the freedom to write.
We are also hugely thankful to the funders of specific strands of our work. This includes the Booker Prize Foundation; the British Council; the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society; Bloomberg Philanthropies; and Fondation Jan Michalski. Along with core support, Arts Council England also awards us the funding to deliver PEN Translates.
There are many other funders and individual donors who have contributed to prizes, to our campaigning, and to our core costs. To each of you, we extend our sincere gratitude.
Members are the backbone of English PEN’s work, and we benefit from a dedicated membership who believe strongly in English PEN’s values. Members support our work in various ways, from lending their voices to provide us with gravitas to actively participating in our campaigns, events, and translation initiatives. We are honoured to have you with us. A special thank you to all of those who have become a part of our PEN Patrons programme. Your generosity is deeply appreciated, and it has been a pleasure working with you over the year.
English PEN’s work remains crucial. None of it could happen without you all – supporting with, engaging in, carrying out our work. We all depend on each other, and this has felt more and more tangible over the past year. Thank you.
Daniel Gorman, Director
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Structure, governance and management
English PEN was incorporated on 17 March 2006 and registered as a charity on 26 August 2008. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company, and is governed by Articles of Association (as amended 27 June 2017) and a deed of trust. The company is limited by guarantee as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and in the event of the company being wound up, company directors are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.
Membership of English PEN is open to poets, playwrights, essayists, editors, journalists, novelists, translators, publishers and other persons who share the organisation’s aims of promoting literature and human rights. Members have the right to stand and vote in elections to the Board, ensuring a high standard of internal transparency and accountability.
The board of trustees, led by the chair, is responsible for the organisation’s governance. The board meets quarterly and at each meeting considers a full report form the director, including the latest management accounts.
Several subcommittees, each governed by their own terms of reference, exist to support board oversight and decision-making. This includes the finance and audit committee. Subcommittees regularly throughout the year to consider specific business.
Responsibility for the day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the director, who oversees the work of staff and volunteers. The director attends all board meetings.
Trustee recruitment and induction
New trustees are selected having regard to the skills and competencies required by the charity in delivering its objects. Current trustees have experience and knowledge of the organisation’s activities, as well as finance and development expertise.
New trustees receive background material to familiarise themselves with the history and activities of the charity as well as Charity Commission documentation to inform them of their responsibilities and obligations under charity law. In addition, they are briefed by the director on key policy and operational issues facing the organisation.
Board performance is reviewed annually at an away day, where annual progress is also reviewed and future strategy and targets agreed.
Public benefit
English PEN constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
In shaping English PEN’s objectives and planning the charity’s activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
English PEN’s registration as a charity on 26 August 2008 marked the Charity Commission’s acceptance of the organisation’s public benefit throughout its activities. The Charity Commission agreed with the trustees that ‘writers, authors, editors, publishers and other persons similarly engaged throughout the world’ constitute a ‘particularly vulnerable’ class of beneficiaries. This ruling enables English PEN to concentrate its resources most effectively on this beneficiary class, while benefiting the public generally.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Related parties
English PEN is the founding centre of PEN International, and has voting rights at the Assembly of Delegates, which constitutes PEN International’s Annual General Meeting.
Strategic report
Aims and objectives
The objectives of the charity are:
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To promote the education of the public by encouraging the understanding, appreciation and development of writing in any style or form.
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To promote the human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations) of writers, authors, editors, publishers and other persons similar engaged (“the Beneficiaries”) throughout the world by all or any of the following means:
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i. Monitoring and seeking to prevent abuses of human rights of Beneficiaries;
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ii. Obtaining redress for Beneficiaries who are the victims of human rights abuse;
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iii. Relieving need among Beneficiaries who are the victims of human rights abuse;
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iv. Research into human rights issues affecting the Beneficiaries;
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v. Educating the public about human rights and raising awareness of human rights issues;
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vi. Providing technical advice to government and others on human rights matters affecting the Beneficiaries;
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vii. Contributing to the sound administration of human rights law and commenting on proposed human rights legislation;
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viii. Promoting public support for and international advocacy of human rights, and promoting respect for human rights among individuals and incorporations;
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ix. Eliminating infringements of the prohibitions on torture, slavery, extradition killing, arbitrary detention and disappearance.
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To relieve poverty and distress among the dependents family and/or household members of Beneficiaries.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Impact
Defending the freedom to write and the freedom to read
In 2024–25, English PEN campaigned to support individuals whose freedom of expression was curtailed, and addressed broader structural issues relating to freedom of expression in the UK.
Writers at Risk
We continued to support writers in prison and at risk around the world. While this work has traditionally focused on international writers, in recent years we have seen an increasing need for support from writers in the UK.
As ever, our support is tailored to the individuals we work with, subject to informed consent, and takes various forms:
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Solidarity, including through our ongoing PENWrites campaign
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Awareness raising, through social media and public campaigns.
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Practical support, including financial assistance and referrals for therapeutic support
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Platforming writers and their work
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Hosting and attending meetings with writers at risk and/or their representatives
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Providing behind-the-scenes support to writers at risk and those close to them
During this period, we supported tens of writers (including those in prison, in exile, and otherwise at risk). Key cases of concern include:
Alaa Abd el-Fattah
British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, an Honorary Member of English PEN, remains imprisoned in Egypt in violation of his right to freedom of expression. On 29 September 2024, Alaa completed his current five-year sentence but was not released. English PEN increased our campaigning activities accordingly. Advocacy activities through 2024–25
included working on a joint submission (with PEN International and PEN America) to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Egypt and supporting Alaa’s family and international legal team with their submission to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD). The UNWGAD decision, announced in May 2025, found Alaa to indeed be arbitrarily detained.
In October 2024, Alaa was announced by Arundhati Roy as the winner of the 2024 PEN Pinter Prize for a Writer of Courage. We were honoured to be joined at the event by members of his family, including his sisters Mona and Sanaa and son Khaled, where his friend and colleague Lina Attalah accepted the award on his behalf.
Julian Assange
In June 2024, we welcomed Julian Assange’s release following his unjust detention in the UK. Together with PEN International, we closely monitored and consistently called for the UK Government to halt the extradition proceedings and for the US Government to withdraw all charges against Assange.
Jimmy Lai
We have continued to support imprisoned publisher Jimmy Lai and to call for his release. Jimmy Lai is among the writers featured in PENWrites, our international letter-writing campaign, and has been a key focus of our communications with parliamentarians.
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
We also supported a number of writers based in the UK who were undergoing harassment or challenges due to their work.
Thematic Campaigns
During the reporting period, we collaborated with writers and partner organisations in the UK and globally, including those affected by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. We also continued to focus on specific legislation and policy efforts in England to support freedom of expression for all.
Responding to the Israeli assault on Gaza
Our work focused on supporting Palestinian writers, both those who remain under bombardment and those who have been displaced. We have amplified PEN International’s calls for an immediate ceasefire. Other activities have included:
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English PEN, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) organised a roundtable in Parliament chaired by Jess Phillips MP to discuss the conditions of reporting on the Israel-Gaza conflict and the challenges faced by journalists in Gaza. The speakers at the roundtable included Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford, multi-Emmy Award-winning journalist Hind Hassan, Al Jazeera journalist Youmna El Sayed, and Al Jazeera producer Safwat Kahlout.
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Palestinian journalist Youmna el-Sayed took part in a roundtable discussion organised by English PEN with UK-based human rights organisations to discuss their role in suupporting Gazan journalists
Work with PEN Ukraine
Our work focusing on Ukraine was carried out in cooperation with PEN Ukraine and PEN International. In 2024-25 this included continuing our joint partnership with Book Aid International to support PEN Ukraine’s Unbreakable Libraries project and supporting Ukrainian writers based in the UK. We also worked closely in partnership with PEN Ukraine on a residency for Ukrainian journalist Anna Romandash (see below)
SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)
During this period, English PEN continued to be involved in the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition, advocating for robust measures to counter SLAPPs in the UK.
Art Not Evidence
During this period, English PEN continued to support the Art Not Evidence coalition with their campaign for judicial reform to limit the use of creative and artistic expression as evidence in criminal trials, specifically Rap and Drill music.
European Court of Human Rights
English PEN submitted a joint intervention to the European Court of Human Rights, together with PEN International and PEN Georgia. The case, Tsaava vs Georgia, concerns the alleged use of excessive force during the dispersal of a demonstration in 2019, resulting in injury to both demonstrators and journalists.
Residencies
We were delighted to continue hosting resident writers in 2024–25. Our residents included poet and President of PEN Belarus Taciana Niadbaj and Kurdish journalist and poet Nedim Türfent, who undertook a week-long poetry tour whilst in the UK. Nedim is an Honorary Member of English PEN and was a key case of concern throughout his six and a half years in prison in Türkiye.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Writers in Exile
We continued our work with writers in exile or experiencing displacement in the UK, with a particular focus on supporting their creative practice. We remain grateful to key partners, including the London Library and the West Lodge Project, for their invaluable support for this area of our work.
Resources
We continue to work on the development of resources to best support the wider literary and arts sector. In 2024-25 we worked with cultural consultant Rana Yazaji on researching and writing ‘Working with artist in times of risk - a framework of considerations’. This was produced for the British Council and launched in early 2025.
Championing the Freedom to Write and the Freedom to Read
Our work championing freedom of expression takes many forms, reflecting our comprehensive engagement with this fundamental right. This includes our work to foster bibliodiversity – through our translation grants and commissioning international voices for our literary magazine – to create platforms for pressing conversations through our nationwide events programme, and to celebrate exceptional and courageous writing through our literary prizes.
PEN Translates
PEN Translates has now supported over 390 books from more than 80 languages with over £1.2m of funding, developing literary diversity in the UK while ensuring translators are paid properly for their work. In 2024–25, PEN Translates:
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Supported 33 books from 26 publishers, 23 regions and 17 languages;
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Awarded 55% of grants to women and non-binary writers and 63% of grants to women and non-binary translators;
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gave awards for the first time to titles from Somaliland, Cameroon and Singapore , and books translated from Greenlandic and Kannada.
PEN Translates has particularly supported small publishers at the vanguard of literary translation, for whom 100% of translations costs are awardable. In 2024–25, we:
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awarded 85% of grants to small presses;
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awarded 39% of grants to publishers outside London.
PEN Translates-supported titles continue to be recognised by national and international prizes. In 2024–25, this included:
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Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from the Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi (And Other Stories) won the 2025 International Booker Prize – the first work translated from Kannada to do so.
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Kibogo by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated from the French (Rwanda) by Mark Polizzotti (Daunt Books), won the 2024 Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize.
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Of Cattle and Men by Ana Paula Maia, translated from the Portuguese (Brazil) by Zoë Perry, won the 2024 Republic of Consciousness Prize.
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End of August by Yu Miri, translated from the Japanese by Morgan Giles (Tilted Axis Press) was longlisted for the 2024 US National Translation Award in Prose.
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Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, translated from the French by Helen Stevenson (Small Axes) was shortlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
In 2024–25, we implemented the first year of our partnership with the South Asian Literature in Translation (SALT) project at the University of Chicago, running grants for new South Asian translated literature through PEN Translates and PEN Presents.
PEN Presents
In 2024–25, we continued our new PEN Presents programme, supporting and showcasing sample translations, funding the often-unpaid work of creating samples, and helping diversify the translated literature landscape. In 2024 we announced a new partnership with the International Booker Prize, for a round of the programme focussing on translators from the Global Majority, and held our first PEN Presents x SALT round, focusing on languages and literatures from South Asia.
The selection panel for PEN Presents x International Booker Prize selected a shortlist of 12 titles (from 13 translators, representing 9 languages and 9 regions) in March 2025. The shortlist included, for the first time across our grants programme, work originally published in Malay, Filipino and Cebuano, and work from Martinique and the Philippines.
International Translation Day
Our fifteenth annual programme for ITD took place on 30 September 2024, in person at Senate House and online, in partnership with the School of Advanced Study and supported by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. It featured a two-part “state of the translation world” conversation, chaired by editor of Wasafiri and 2025 International Booker Prize judge Sana Goyal, with Nichola Smalley, award-winning Swedish and Norwegian literary translator, English PEN Translation Advisory Co-chair, and Translators Association committee member; Ravi Mirchandani, publisher of Summit Books at Simon & Schuster, and formerly publisher of Picador; and Safae El-Ouahabi, agent at RCW; Tamara Zimet, Programme Director (Adults) at Edinburgh International Book Festival; Jasper Sutcliffe, Head of Business Development at Bookshop.org; and Nashwa Nasreldin, Editor at the Poetry Translation Centre. The day was attended by over 150 translators and literary professionals.
PEN Transmissions
PEN Transmissions is English PEN’s online magazine for international and translated literature. In 2024–25, personal essays and interviews on PEN Transmissions reached 31,400 readers in 152 countries. Across the year:
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we commissioned essays and interviews by 26 writers and translators in 13 countries;
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81% of writers commissioned identified as women or non-binary;
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62% of commissioned voices were writers or translators from the Global Majority;
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we featured voices including Jacqueline Wilson, Tetyana Teren, Arundhati Roy, Naomi Klein, lisa luxx, Ahmed Bassiouny
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with the support of the Norman Trust, English PEN launched a dedicated “Young Voices” strand showcasing Gen Z writers.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Events
English PEN delivers an annual programme of events to showcase and celebrate writers who engage with freedom of expression issues, or whose own freedoms have been challenged. We prioritise elevating voices that are underrepresented and aim to create engaging and accessible cultural opportunities for audiences. Our events also provide spaces for open dialogue. In 2024–25 we reached a total combined audience of over 9,700 people. Our events included:
London Book Fair
This year, the English PEN Literary Salon returned as a one-day intensive programme at the London Book Fair, with conversations that spanned the breadth of English PEN’s work, including:
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Writing others' experiences: freedom and appropriation
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Publishing and environmental responsibility: why the climate crisis is a free expression issue
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The ethics of funding: the future of UK literary festivals and prizes
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Publishing responsibly in times of conflict (part 1): SWANA literature and non-instrumentalising practices
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Publishing responsibly in times of conflict (part 2): crises the industry ignores
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What do we do with contentious classics?
We also co-curated, with SALT and the British Council, an event in the Literary Translation Centre:
- Six Years to Change a Market: Joint Interventions to Grow Translation – A South Asia Case Study
Mahmoud Muna at Union Chapel
In the evening of 12 March, we held a public event with Palestinian bookseller Mahmoud Muna, in conversation with Olivia Snaije, at the Union Chapel. This event took place shortly after the Educational Bookshop had been raided by Israeli police, leading to an international outcry, and during his visit to English PEN Mahmoud took part in various media interviews.
Anna Romandash residency
In summer 2024, English PEN welcomed prize-winning Ukrainian writer and journalist Anna Romandash to London as part of Stories of Resilience , a research and writing project delivered in partnership with PEN Ukraine and with the financial support of the UK/UA Creative Partnerships programme, designed by the British Council and the Ukrainian Institute. Before coming to London, Anna spent three months interviewing writers, academics, archivists, culture workers and activists across Ukraine in-person and online. During her month-long residency, she developed the material compiled in Ukraine into a 10,000-word commission, featuring ten profiles of the creatives she interviewed.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
While in the UK, Anna had several editorial sessions with journalists at the Guardian and Channel 4 News, benefited from complimentary membership of the London Library, and took part in events with the Ukrainian Institute in London and Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann in Armagh. As part of the project, Anna also co-facilitated a writing workshop with members of the Ukrainian diaspora living in the UK, in partnership with Dash Arts. Upon returning to Ukraine, Anna spent another three months writing and refining the commission. The printed pamphlet has now been distributed to libraries across Ukraine.
Other events
English PEN was a partner on many other events throughout the year, working with writers including Iman Aoun, Marina Barham, Hannah Khalil, Salman Rushdie, Hisham Matar, Elif Shafak, Adania Shibli, Philippe Sands. Partners for our events programme included Hay Festival, Southbank Centre, Bodleian Library, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Di-verse Poetry Festival, New Writing North and the Royal Court Theatre, among many others.
Prizes
Our prizes recognise and award contributions to literature and freedom of expression, and bring attention to global cases of persecution and censorship. In the reporting period, this included:
2024 PEN Pinter Prize
The 2024 PEN Pinter Prize, judged by Chair of English PEN, Ruth Borthwick, actor and activist Khalid Abdalla, and writer and musician, Roger Robinson, was awarded to Arundhati Roy. and shared with Writer of Courage. At the award ceremony, held at the British Library on 10 October, Roy announced Alaa Abd el-Fattah as the 2024 Writer of Courage, with whom she had selected to share the Prize. We were also joined Naomi Klein, who delivered an encomoum for Roy and Abd el-Fattah. The Prize was made possible by the generosity of Faber and Ruth Maxted.
2024 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
The PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize ceremony was held at the October Gallery, London, on 27 November 2024. Avi Shlaim was announced as the 2024 winner by judges Sharmilla Beezmohun (chair), Clare Anderson and Venetia Porter, after a conversation with the shortlisted writers.
PEN Heaney Prize
This year, we launched the PEN Heaney Prize with Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann and the Estate of Seamus Heaney, recognising outstanding poetry with a focus on social engagement. The inaugural Prize ceremony was held at Queen’s University Belfast on 2 December 2024, where Susannah Dickey was announced as the inaugural winner and accepted her award. The Prize was made possible by the generosity of the Hawthornden Foundation and the Estate of Seamus Heaney.
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
PEN Congress
The PEN International Congress was held in Oxford from 24–27 September 2024, with 150 delegates from PEN Centres around the world joining. We held several public events alongside Congress:
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Adania Shibli’s keynote opening at the Bodleian Library (in partnership with PEN International)
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Power, privilege and equity of expression: ways of practising global solidarity at the Ashmolean Museum with Gioconda Belli, Mahi Ramakrishnan and Nedum Türfent, chaired by Juliet Jacques
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Why the right to protest is a free expression issue at the Ashmolean Museum with Hanna Komar, Miyo Peck-Suzuki, David Mead and Sanaa Seif, chaired by Daniel Gorman.
Membership
Through 2024–25 we placed increased focus on membership engagement, through regular members emails and through enhanced use of our CRM.
We currently have 927 members (as of August 2025).
Communications
Website
In 2024-25 our website underwent comprehensive redevelopment, informed by the findings from our audiences research undertaken as part of our Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator project. The aims of the website redevelopment were to improve user experience and integrate our new CRM (Beacon).
Press highlights
2024–25 media coverage highlights include: coverage of the PEN Pinter Prize winner in media outlets internationally, including the front page of the Guardian newspaper; coverage of the Writer of Courage in international media outlets; broadcast and press coverage of our programme for London Book Fair 2025, including exclusive interviews with featured speaker Mahmoud Muna; coverage of the announcement of the inaugural PEN Heaney Prize in trade and broadsheet publications. All our translation and prize announcements were featured in book industry publications including The Bookseller , Publishing Perspectives and BookBrunch .
Social media & email marketing
On 27 February 2025 we ceased posting on Twitter/X, due to the platforms increasing tolerance of hate speech. In 2024–25 we also launched new accounts on Threads, Bluesky, and TikTok. Our current number (August 2025) of followers on each platform is: 8,346 on Instagram, 12,406 on Facebook, 1,293 on BlueSky, 168 on TikTok and 27,198 on LinkedIn. We have not yet started promoting our TikTok page while we trial new forms of social media content.
Since integrating our CRM, our data – including all media contacts and mailing lists – has become significantly cleaner and healthier. We have continued regular emails to our three core audiences (members, bulletin subscribers, PENWrites subscribers
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English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
TO HERE
Trustees’ annual report
Financial review
The net result for the year, an overall deficit of £251k comprises a deficit of £202k on unrestricted and a deficit of £49k on restricted funds. The deficit for the year is due to expenditure made using funds received in previous years including the one-off unrestricted grant from the Hawthornden Foundation that was recognised in the 2024 accounts. The grant was set aside as a designated fund with the intention of being spent over 3 years hence the planned deficit for the year.
As explained above the expenditure for the year increased to £931k (2024: £818k).
At 31 March 2025, unrestricted free reserves – that is, unrestricted funds excluding those represented by fixed assets and designated funds – were £747k. This is greater than the reserve policy of holding the equivalent of a minimum of six months’ operating costs. Designated funds were £313k. Restricted funds of £272k, were held at the year end.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
The charity maintains and reviews a risk register, which focuses on the major strategic and operational risks the charity faces, including mitigating actions to reduce each risk to a level the trustees consider acceptable. The risk register is reviewed and maintained by the director and reviewed in detail by the trustees annually.
The major risks faced by the charity are:
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Financial sustainability
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Reputational risk
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Recruiting and retaining appropriate trustees and staff
Reserves policy
The trustees have adopted a risk-based approach to determine an appropriate level of reserves and it is the charity’s policy to hold unrestricted free reserves to cover operating costs for six months. At 31 March 2025, unrestricted free reserves were £747k, of which £353k is equivalent to approximately six months running costs.
Going concern
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
The trustees have given due consideration to the working capital and cash flow requirements and consider current and forecast cash resources to be sufficient to cover the working capital requirements of the charity for at least 12 months from the date of signing this report and the financial statements.
15
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Trustees’ annual report
Statement of trustees’ responsibilities
The trustees (who are also the directors of English PEN for the purpose of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to:
-
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
-
observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;
-
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
-
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. In so far as the trustees are aware:
-
there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and
-
the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors
So far as the trustees are aware, there is no relevant information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware, and each trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make them aware of audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.
On behalf of the board:
Ruth Borthwick, Chair 2025
16
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of English PEN
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of English Pen (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
-
give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
-
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
-
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
17
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of English PEN (continued)
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
-
the information given in the Trustees’ Annual Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
-
the directors’ report included within the Trustees’ Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the Trustees’ Annual Report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
-
adequate accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
-
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
-
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
-
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
-
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
18
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of English PEN (continued)
Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
-
The charitable company is required to comply with both company law and charity law and, based on our knowledge of its activities, we identified that the legal requirement to accurately account for restricted funds was of key significance.
-
We gained an understanding of how the charitable company complied with its legal and regulatory framework, including the requirement to properly account for restricted funds, through discussions with management and a review of the documented policies, procedures and controls.
-
The audit team, which is experienced in the audit of charities, considered the charitable company’s susceptibility to material misstatement and how fraud may occur. Our considerations included the risk of management override.
-
Our approach was to check that all restricted income was properly identified and separately accounted for and to ensure that only valid and appropriate expenditure was charged to restricted funds. This included reviewing journal adjustments and unusual transactions.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
2025-11-14 Simon Goodridge Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of Knox Cropper LLP Statutory Auditor 65 Leadenhall Street London EC3A 2AD
19
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2025
All of the above results are derived from continuing activities and there are no other gains or losses than those stated above.
A comparative statement of financial activities is presented on page 36
20
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025
| Unrestricted | Restricted | 31 March | 31 March | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes | funds | funds | 2025 | 2024 | ||
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |||
| Fixed assets | ||||||
| Tangible fixed assets | 14 | 11,322 | 17,744 | 29,066 | 13,642 | |
| Investments | 15 | 185,677 | 66,219 | 251,896 | 234,252 | |
| 196,999 | 83,963 | 280,962 | 247,894 | |||
| Current assets | 16 | |||||
| Debtors | 9,862 | 13,958 | 23,820 | 9,172 | ||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 943,535 | 178,214 | 1,121,749 | 1,391,123 | ||
| 953,397 | 192,172 | 1,145,569 | 1,400,295 | |||
| Creditors | ||||||
| Amounts falling due within one year | 17 | (79,058) | (3,823) | (82,881) | (53,822) | |
| Net current assets | 874,339 | 188,349 | 1,062,688 | 1,346,472 | ||
| Net assets | 1,071,338 | 272,312 | 1,343,650 | 1,594,367 | ||
| Funds | 18 | |||||
| Unrestricted - general | 748,845 | - | 748,845 | 725,959 | ||
| Unrestricted - designated | 322,493 | - | 322,493 | 547,199 | ||
| Restricted | - | 272,311 | 272,311 | 321,209 | ||
| Total funds | 1,071,338 | 272,311 | 1,343,649 | 1,594,367 |
The financial statements were approved by the Board on 14th November 2025 and signed on its behalf by:
Ruth Borthwick Chair
2025-11-14 Joanna Stocks Treasurer
Company number: 05747142
21
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2025
| Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Note | 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | ||
| Net cash provided by/ (used in) operating activities | A | (274,068) | 160,737 |
| Cash flows from investing activities: | |||
| Interest on bank deposits | 17,644 | 17,568 | |
| Dividends on investments | 9,550 | 8,050 | |
| Net cash provided by investing activities | 27,194 | 25,618 | |
| Cash flows from financing activities: | |||
| Purchase of fixed assets | (22,501) | (8,334) | |
| Net cash used in financing activities | (22,501) | - | |
| Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year | (269,375) | 178,020 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents brought forward | 1,391,123 | 1,213,103 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents carried forward | 1,121,748 | 1,391,123 |
| Note A: Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow from operating activities | Note A: Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow from operating activities | Note A: Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow from operating activities |
|---|---|---|
| Net income/ (expenditure) for the year (as per the | ||
| statement of financial activities) | (250,718) | (250,718) 159,403 |
| Depreciation charges | 7,077 | 3,614 |
| Interest on bank deposits | (17,644) | (17,644) (17,568) |
| Dividends on investments | (9,550) | (9,550) (8,050) |
| (Gains)/losses on revaluation of investments | (17,644) | (17,644) (4,443) |
| Decrease/ (increase) in debtors | (14,648) | 54,437 |
| (Decrease)/ increase in creditors | 29,059 | (26,656) |
| Net cash provided by/ (used in) operating activities | (274,068) | (274,068) 160,737 |
22
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
1 Accounting policies
a) Basis of preparation
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) second edition', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with the exception of investments which are included at market value.
b) Income
Income is recognised and included in the accounts when the following criteria are met: the charity is entitled to the funds; any performance criteria attached to the item(s) of income have been met; there is sufficient certainty that the receipt of the income is probable; and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income received in advance of an event or a provision of other specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.
c) Expenditure
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Wherever possible, costs are directly attributed to these headings. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they, have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
-
Support costs include all expenditure not directly related to charitable activities e.g. general office costs, administration, management and governance.
-
Governance costs are those costs incurred in the governance of the charity and are primarily associated with the constitutional and statutory requirements.
-
Support costs, including governance, are allocated to expenditure on raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in notes 9 and 10.
d) Fund accounting
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor or the funds raised for particular restricted purposes.
Unrestricted funds are funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the charitable objectives of the charity.
Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund, and the basis of transfers to or from them, are set out in Note 18.
23
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Accounting policies
e) Tangible fixed assets
Items with a value greater than £250 are capitalised. Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Provision is made for depreciation on all tangible assets at rates calculated to write off the cost of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:
-
Fixtures, fittings & computers – depreciated on a straight line basis over 60 months.
-
Software - depreciated on a straight line basis over 120 months.
f) Investments
Investments are stated at market value as at the balance sheet date. Any gain or loss on revaluation is taken to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
g) Pension costs
Pension contributions payable to employee defined contribution pension schemes are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.
h) Going concern
The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. They have considered the impact of external influences such as the cost-of-living crisis on both its income and expenditure for at least a period of twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
24
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
restructure and increased investment in fundraising and development
25
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
470,796 930,997 234,016 286,558 297,347 817,921
26
9
10
11
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
Allocation of support costs
| The charity allocates its support costs (including Governance costs) as follows: Expenditure on raising funds 2025 Expenditure on charitable activities 2025 Total support costs 2025 Support costs £ Staff costs 71,542 274,137 345.679 Printing, postage and stationery 296 1,135 1,431 Travel, accommodation & subsistence 834 3,195 4,029 IT & web costs 1,947 7,460 9,407 Insurance 1,104 4,229 5,333 Rent 9,681 37,094 46,775 Subscriptions 2,405 9,214 11,619 Bank charges & similar 187 718 905 Other costs 5,769 23,124 28,893 Depreciation 1,540 4,885 6,425 Governance costs (note 10) 2,132 8,168 10,300 97,437 373,359 470,796 |
Expenditure on raising funds 2024 11,860 321 195 290 213 2,645 254 83 2,583 235 648 19,327 |
Expenditure on charitable activities 2024 170,601 4,624 2,810 4,179 3,059 38,047 3,646 1,189 37,163 3,379 9,323 278,020 |
Total support costs 2024 £ 182,461 4,945 3,005 4,469 3,272 40,692 3,900 1,272 39,746 3,614 9,971 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 297,347 |
Support and Governance costs are allocated based on the direct spend on those activities.
Governance costs
Governance costs are broken down as follows:
| Expenditure on raising funds Legal fees 7 Audit fees 1,265 Board costs 557 Insurance 303 Other - 2,132 |
Expenditure on charitable activities 28 4,847 2,133 1,160 - 8,168 |
Total governance costs 2025 35 6,112 2,690 1,463 - 10,300 |
Expenditure on raising funds 2024 2 390 70 186 - 648 |
Expenditure on charitable activities 2024 33 5,610 1,005 2,675 - 9,323 |
Total governance costs 2024 35 6,000 1,075 2,861 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9,971 |
| Net income/(expenditure) for the year This is stated after charging: Operating leases -equipment Depreciation Loss on disposal of fixed assets Auditors' remuneration |
Total 2025 £ - 7,077 - 6,112 13,189 |
Total 2024 £ - 3,614 - 6,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 9,614 |
27
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
28
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
13 Grants payable
The charity made the following grants during the year:
| Grants to institutions £ Writers in Translation 97,486 Writers at Risk 54,733 152,219 Grants payable continued Recipients of institutional grants for PEN projects were as follows: ACA Publishing Ltd Amaurea And Other Stories Publishing Bloodaxe Books Cassava Republic Press Charco Press Cinder House Publishing Comma Press DAS Editions Daunt Books Dedalus Ltd Duckworth Books Fitzcarraldo Editions Foundry Editions Ltd Heloise Press Honford Star HopeRoad Publishing Istros Books Little Tiger Press Latin America Bureau Major Books LTD Momentum Books Norvik Press Parthian Peirene Press Ltd A PEN Centre PEN Emergency Fund PEN Ukraine Penguin Random House Peninsula Press Ltd Pluto Press Praspar Press Profile Books Prototype Publishing Pushkin Press Scribe Publications Selkies House Limited Shearsman Books The Emma Press The Indigo Press The Poetry Translation Centre Tilted Axis Press CIC University College London Westbourne Publishers |
Grants to individuals £ - 6,409 6,409 |
Total 2025 £ 97,486 61,142 158,628 Total 2025 £ 1,654 1,875 7,800 688 2,500 5,600 1,680 8,285 - - 9,509 2,625 1,750 4,649 7,941 - 5,292 - - 3,729 3,060 1,500 1,500 1,018 2,700 - 8,754 45,980 1,080 1,437 - - 3,483 900 - - 3,467 - 1,500 1,772 1,500 6,294 - 700 |
Total 2024 £ 85,259 56,469 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 141,728 | |||
| Total 2024 £ 3,079 - 8,462 1,556 - 6,713 - 4,461 1,000 1,000 4,040 - - - 6,691 1,750 - 2,500 1,000 - - - - 1,018 1,700 23,689 9,589 - - - 3,925 2,070 5,758 3,525 1,250 3,000 - 500 267 1,772 - 8,242 3,484 - |
|||
| 152,219 | 112,038 |
13 Grants payable continued
29
English PEN
Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
| 14 Tangible fixed assets Cost At 1 April 2024 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2025 Depreciation At 1 April 2024 Charge for the year Disposals At 31 March 2025 Net Book Value At 31 March 2025 15 Fixed asset investments Market value as at 1 April Unrealised gains/ (losses) on investments Market Value as at 31 March Historical Cost City of London Investment Trust M&G Investment (Charifund) Halifax (Bankers Investment Trust) Witan Investment COIF Fixed Interest (CCLA) |
Market Value 2025 £ 70,902 73,228 18,684 22,863 66,219 251,896 |
Fittings, computers & software £ 26,594 22,501 - 49,095 12,952 7,077 - 20,029 29,066 Cost 2025 £ 31,397 44,160 9,334 19,343 66,317 170,551 |
Total 2025 £ 26,594 22,501 - 49,095 12,952 7,077 20,029 29,066 Total 2025 £ 234,252 17,644 251,896 170,551 Market Value 2024 £ 60,264 70,227 17,867 21,350 64,544 234,252 |
Total 2024 £ 18,260 8,334 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26,594 9,338 3,614 |
||||
| 12,952 | ||||
| 13,642 | ||||
| Total 2024 £ 229,809 4,443 |
||||
| 234,252 | ||||
| 170,551 | ||||
| Cost 2024 £ 31,397 44,160 9,334 19,343 66,317 |
||||
| 170,551 |
30
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
| 16 Debtors Trade debtors Accrued income Prepayments |
Total 2025 £ 10,153 3,958 9,709 23,820 |
Total 2024 £ 455 - 8,717 |
|---|---|---|
| 9,172 |
| 17 Creditors: amounts falling due in less than one year Trade creditors Social security and other taxes Deferred income Accruals and other creditors |
Total 2025 £ 25,624 14,881 18,181 24,195 82,881 |
Total 2024 £ 31,121 148 204 22,409 |
|---|---|---|
| 53,882 |
Deferred income relates to grant income received in advance, which is deferred to the accounting period to which it relates.
Movement in deferred income during the year was as follows:
| Deferred income brought forward Released in year Deferred in year Deferred income carried forward |
Total 2025 £ 204 (246,240) 264,217 18,181 |
Total 2024 £ 10,204 (244,216) 234,216 |
|---|---|---|
| 204 |
31
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 18 Movement in funds
| At 31 | Expenditure | |
|---|---|---|
| March | Income and | and |
| 2024 | transfers | transfers |
| £ | £ | £ |
| 44,635 | - | 30,797 |
| 15,854 | 6,835 | 15,335 |
| 2,270 | - | - |
| - | 5,000 | 3,835 |
| 1,870 | - | - |
| 64,629 | 11,835 | 49,967 |
| (297) | 5,077 | 4,780 |
| 122,558 | 127,478 | 110,263 |
| - | 8,000 | 77 |
| 33,449 | 988 | 7,255 |
| 500 | - | - |
| 1,000 | - | - |
| 2,350 | - | 900 |
| - | 19,104 | 15,625 |
| 1,073 | 2,075 | 2,075 |
| 160,633 | 162,722 | 140,975 |
| 800 | - | 800 |
| 1,134 | - | 780 |
| 19,381 | 254 | 19,635 |
| (57) | 1,069 | - |
| 1,480 | 3,000 | 1,500 |
| 6,292 | - | - |
| - | 23,212 | 23,212 |
| - | - | - |
| - | 7,792 | - |
| - | 22,786 | 22,785 |
| 986 | - | 260 |
| 7,228 | 2,666 | 8,754 |
| 37,244 | 60,779 | 77,726 |
| 1,159 | - | 17 |
| - | 10,467 | 10,467 |
| 19,571 | - | 14,850 |
| (30,568) | 1,848 | 8,203 |
| - | 10,000 | 5,000 |
| 4,000 | 5,000 | 6,019 |
| (5,838) | 27,315 | 44,556 |
| 64,541 | - | - |
| 321,209 | 262,651 | 313,224 |
| 725,959 | 431,151 | 424,234 |
| 287,859 | - | 95,244 |
| 56,172 | - | 48,462 |
32
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
18 Purposes of restricted funds
Community Engagement
-
Arts Council England supported English PEN's centenary project, Common Currency
-
Bloomberg supported
-
The British Council supported the PEN Literary Salon at the London Book Fair and 'Stories of Resilience'
-
Essex Book Festival funded creative writing workshops and a panel event as part of the Writing on the Inside prison writing project • Prisons Writing Competition Campaign is supported by various donations from English PEN supporters
-
Salusbury World supported the 20:20 Vision workshop programme
Writers in Translation
-
ALCS supported International Translation Day
-
Arts Council England supported English PEN’s core activities and Writers in Translation programme
-
The Booker Prize Foundation supported International Translation Day
-
The British Council supported projects with a focus on India and Indian language; contemporary queer writers from the Arabic world; and writers from the MENA region.
-
Fondation Jan Michalski supported PEN Transmissions
-
Lulu Norman and the Norman Trust supported PEN Transmissions
-
University of Exeter supported PEN Presents a programme supporting and showcasing sample translations.
Campaigns & Writers at Risk
-
Anonymous donors supported writers at risk
-
Garrick Charitable Trust supported
-
Hawthornden Foundation supported English PEN's residency programme for writers at risk
-
Justice for Journalist supported work to develop a model UK anti-SLAPP.
-
Open Society Foundations (OSF) supported English PEN’s Writers at Risk projects, including the Writers in Residence programme
-
Prisoners of Conscience Appeal Fund supported individual writers at risk internationally
-
Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch and English PEN raised funds for Privacy not Prism and for future legal
-
The Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust funded English PEN’s campaign for libel reform in Northern Ireland and
-
Valentines for Palestine, a crowd funding campaign, supported the PEN Emergency Fund
Prizes
-
The Blavatnik Family Foundation supported the PEN Pinter Prize
-
Hawthornden Foundation supported the Heaney Prize
-
The Hessell-Tiltman Prize Fund supported an annual literary prize awarded for a non-fiction book of specifically historical content. Marjorie Hessell-Tiltman was a member of PEN. As well as the capital sum, English PEN benefits from dividends received quarterly • Ruth Maxted supported the PEN Pinter prize
-
The Estate of Seamus Heaney supported R&D into establishing a prize in the name of Seamus Heaney
Purposes of designated funds
Development
Funds to support the post of Events and Development Manager following the conclusion of the centenary programme.
Fundraising
Funds to support ad hoc fundraising costs.
Campaigns & Writers at Risk
Funds to support the post of Campaigns and Writers at Risk Manager over a two-year period.
Extending organisational capacity
Funds to support a detailed plan to extend and strengthen organisation capacity over a 3-year period. Including new posts of Head of Development and Membership and Communications Officer, IT and office adjustments, travel and campaigns budgets.
Hawthornden
To support core operations over three years.
33
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Notes to the financial statements
| 19 Analysis of net assets between funds Tangible fixed assets £ Restricted funds 17,744 Unrestricted - general 11,322 Unrestricted - designated - Total funds 29,066 |
Investments £ 66,218 185,677 - 251,895 |
Net current assets £ 188,349 551,846 322,493 1,062,688 |
Total funds 2025 £ 272,311 748,845 322,493 1,343,649 |
Total funds 2024 £ 321,909 725,959 547,199 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,594,367 |
20 Operating lease commitments
At 31 March 2025 the charity had future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, with payments falling due as follows:
| with payments falling due as follows: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Land/buildings | ||
| Due | 2025 | 2024 |
| Within one year | 23,000 | 23,000 |
| Between one and five | ||
| years | 11,845 | 23,000 |
21 Related party transactions
There were no related party transactions during the year, other than those disclosed in note 12 to the financial statements.
34
English PEN Report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025
Comparative statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2024
Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities: Community Engagement Writers in Translation Campaigns & Writers at Risk Prizes Other charitable income Other trading activities Investments Other Total income Expenditure on: Raising funds Charitable activities: Community Engagement Writers in Translation Campaigns & Writers at Risk Prizes Other charitable expenditure Total expenditure Net operating income/ (expenditure) before gains/ (losses) on investments Net (losses)/ gains on investments Net movement in funds Funds brought forward Funds carried forward |
Unrestricted funds £ 188,754 - - - - 416,067 1,868 24,175 60,098 690,962 53,164 13,806 179,440 153,263 12,382 15,555 427,610 263,352 1,616 264,968 1,008,190 1,273,158 |
Restricted funds £ - 19,640 130,497 95,767 34,571 - - 1,443 281,918 - 64,164 174,144 130,326 21,676 - 390,310 (108,392) 2,827 (105,565) 426,774 321,209 |
Total 2023/24 £ 188,754 19,640 130,497 95,767 34,571 416,067 1,868 25,618 60,098 972,880 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53,164 77,970 353,584 283,589 34,058 15,555 817,920 |
|||
| 154,960 4,443 159,403 |
|||
| 1,434,964 | |||
| 1,594,367 |
35
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