Join PEN America for this featured event with two of the finest novelists of our time, Rivka Galchen and Claire Messud. The event will include readings from the two authors, followed by a conversation on wide ranging themes including depiction of complex female characters and women’s inner life and identity in American literature, motherhood, and the intersections of women’s work and home lives.

**Moderator:**Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf is the deputy director of public programs at PEN America with a decade of experience in curating public arts and educational programs. She has a special interest in audience development, public engagement strategies, and cultural community partnerships.

Claire Messud is the author of six books, including the bestselling novels The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs. Her latest novel is The Burning Girl. She writes regularly for The New York Review of Books and The New York Times Book Review, and teaches at Harvard University.