Farewell Reflections from outgoing Centre Co-Ordinator Lindsay Callaghan

Lindsay Callaghan joined the staff of PEN South Africa in early 2015, and has done stellar work in handling communications, project management and Centre co-ordination during her (almost) two years in an ever-shifting role. What follows is a short reflection on her time at PEN SA:

In March 2015 I joined PEN SA as a communications officer, since then my job title has changed twice and the Centre has grown both in terms of membership and in our capacity to take on projects and tackle advocacy issues. It has been an interesting and rewarding few years of work and I have enjoyed keeping track of the books published, awards won and other literary news from our members. My ‘to read’ list has gotten quite out of control.

Other highlights were working on the once-off PEN SA Student Writing Prize we ran in 2016, attending the 81^st PEN International Congress and visiting PEN America, meeting colleagues from other Centres on the continent, who are doing amazing work, and just generally getting to work with an international community of people who all share the common goal of protecting freedom of expression.

I am leaving PEN SA to move into a new field of work but I am excited to see PEN SA President Nadia David’s plans for next year unfold. 

We would like to thank Lindsay for her excellent contribution to our Centre, and wish her the greatest of success in her future work.