Longtime PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel is stepping down to head Freedom House

NEW YORK — The CEO of PEN America, Suzanne Nossel, is stepping down after more than a decade marked by substantial growth and recent controversy, In January, she will be heading the pro-democracy Freedom House.

“I am tremendously honored to lead an organization with Freedom House’s extraordinary track record at the forefront of fighting tyranny in all its forms,” Nossel said in a statement released Thursday by Freedom House, a nonprofit founded in 1941 to help raise American opposition to fascism.

Since Nossel was named CEO of PEN in 2013, the annual budget for the literary and free expression organization has surged from $2 million to more than $20 million. PEN has presided over a wide range of ambitious programs, from prison writing to the tracking of book bans. Each spring, PEN has hosted a high-profile fundraising gala at the American Museum of Natural History, organized a World Voices Festival attended by authors from dozens of countries and handed out literary awards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Over the past year, Nossel and the leadership at PEN have been widely criticized by authors and others in the literary community for its response to the Israel-Hamas war. Hundreds of writers endorsed letters or otherwise spoke out over what they believed was PEN's failure to forcefully condemn the killing and censorship of Palestinian artists and journalists. Last spring, PEN canceled its annual awards ceremony after dozens of nominees withdrew and canceled the World Voices Festival after facing a similar response.

During a telephone interview Thursday, Nossel said she had been in touch with Freedom House over the past couple of months but said the conflicts over the Middle East war did not push her into seeking other work. Nossel, whose previous positions include deputy assistant secretary of state and chief operating officer of Human Rights Watch, said she had expected to stay at PEN for 3 to 4 years and felt the “time was right” to leave.

“My background is in foreign policy, international affairs, and Freedom House has been involved with that for a long time,” she said.

On Thursday, PEN announced that Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf will serve as interim CEOs while PEN searches for a permanent replacement. Lopez had been serving as chief program officer for free expression programs and Rosaz Shariyf as chief program officer for literary programs.

"As chief program officers at PEN America, Summer and Clarisse have demonstrated their commitment to our mission of elevating writers and literature and protecting free expression, along with a track record of excellence in leadership,” PEN America President Jennifer Finney Boylan said in a statement. “We are also grateful to Suzanne Nossel, to whom we wish success in her future endeavors.”