Jennifer Finney Boylan to Lead PEN America

Jennifer Finney Boylan, an author and L.G.B.T.Q. rights advocate, was elected on Monday president of PEN America, one of the most significant organizations defending free speech in the country. She will lead the PEN board of trustees at a time when challenges to books and free expression are on the rise.

“As PEN president, it is my job to fight for free expression on the right and the left,” Boylan said. “I’m an author. I’m a writer. And at this perilous moment, I am really going to try to fight for everybody as best I can.”

Boylan, who had been the vice president of the PEN board, has written 18 books, including novels, thrillers and two best-selling memoirs, “She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders” and “I’m Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted,” on her experiences as a transgender woman. She also was a national co-chair of GLAAD, an L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy group, and a contributing opinion columnist for The New York Times.

In an interview, Boylan talked about her new position, which has previously been held by authors including Salman Rushdie, Jennifer Egan and most recently, Ayad Akhtar. What follows are edited excerpts from the conversation.