Contributors include Yousef Al-Mohaimeed, Paul Auster, Michael Cunningham, Lydia Davis, Petina Gappah, Nikki Giovanni, Rawi Hage, Shahriar Mandanipour, Colum McCann, Michael Ondaatje, Marilynne Robinson, Salman Rushdie, Susan Sontag, John Edgar Wideman, and many others.

[1] In its inaugural year, PEN America was recognized as one of the "Ten Best New Magazines" by Library Journal.

The magazine received a nomination for an Utne Independent Press Award in 2010 for its international coverage.

Additionally, works of fiction from the magazine were selected for the Pushcart Prize in 2009 and 2010.

In February 2009, Edward Albee, André Aciman, Anthony Appiah, Ron Chernow, Lydia Davis, Deborah Eisenberg, Francine Prose, and Sarah Ruhl participated in the journal's first benefit reading.