International PEN was founded in London in 1921 in the aftermath of World War I, in a period of hatred between nations. The founder, Catharine Amy Dawson Scott, was convinced that if the writers of the world could reach out to each other, then the nations of the world could eventually learn to do the same. She was joined by eminent writers of her day, including Joseph Conrad, George Bernard Shaw and John Galsworthy, PEN’s first president. The early founders of PEN realized that for any community of letters to thrive, the freedom of the individual writer must also be protected. Thus before Amnesty International began, PEN was working for the release of writers around the world who were prisoners of conscience. Today, PEN is composed of 144 centers in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas with a total membership of approximately 15,000.