PEN LITERARY AWARDS: Judges have been announced for the 2016 PEN Literary Awards. Of special interest to readers of this blog is the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. The Bellweather Prize was established in 2000 by Barbara Kingsolver and is funded entirely by her, was created to promote fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. It is awarded biennially. Judges for the Bellweather Prize include Laila Lalami, Kathy Pories, and Brando Skyhorse, pictured above.