Canada has long been a safe haven for newcomers from all over the world. Included in that group of people are many talented writers who have been compelled to leave their homeland because they were not able to write freely.

The Writers in Exile Network is a program of network-building that has grown out of a commitment to understand better the needs of exiled writers living in Canada and to create opportunities to improve their access to a professional career. The Network was developed specifically to expand the range and location of placements in academic institutions.

Each institution’s program is meant to be a unique creation. The placements may take the form of teaching or writing residencies, translation and publication projects, cultural and community outreach programs, creative writing seminars, reading and lecture series, bursaries and scholarships, and journalism or publishing internships.

The writers considered for placements include authors, essayists, poets, journalists, playwrights, publishers, translators, editors and screenwriters who worked in these professions in their native countries and who are represented in an on-line catalogue.

In spring 2005, the Banff Centre Press published Speaking in Tongues: PEN Canada Writers in Exile, which provides a sampling of essays and fiction from several of our exiled writers.

Grants from The Maytree Foundation and the International Development Research Centre support initiatives of the Writers in Exile Network.

PEN Canada is the current chair of the International PEN Writers in Exile Network.