National League of American Pen Women


The National League of American Pen Women, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501 membership organization for women.

History

The first meeting of the League of American Pen Women was organized in 1897 by Marian Longfellow O'Donoghue, a writer for newspapers in Washington D.C. and Boston. Together with Margaret Sullivan Burke and Anna Sanborn Hamilton they established a "progressive press union" for the women writers of Washington.
Seventeen women joined them at first, professional credentials were required for membership and the ladies determined that Pen Women should always be paid for their work. By September 1898, members were over fifty members "from Maine to Texas, from New York to California."
In 1921 the association became The National League of American Pen Women with thirty-five local branches in various states.
The League's headquarters are located in the historic Pen Arts Building and Art Museum in the DuPont Circle area of Washington.

Notable members