Category Archives: PEN

PEN America cancels festival after authors drop out in support of Gaza

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Cancellation of World Voices festival comes days after organization cancelled 2024 edition of its annual awards ceremony

The free speech organization PEN America has cancelled its World Voices festival after several authors withdrew their participation over the non-profit’s response to Israel’s military attacks against Gaza.

The festival was scheduled to take place on 8 May in New York City and Los Angeles. A prominent group of writers including Naomi Klein, a Guardian columnist; Isabella Hammad; and Zaina Arafat signed an open letter to PEN America in March announcing their decision not to participate in this year’s festival.

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Writers withdraw from PEN America literary awards in support of Gaza

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Authors and translators say PEN America has ‘had no criticism of American complicity in the bombardment of Gaza’, in stark contrast to other national centres of the organisation

Thirty-one authors and translators have withdrawn their work from consideration for or declined PEN America’s 2024 literary awards over the organisation’s “failure to protect” Palestinian writers in Gaza.

Nine out of 10 longlistees for the PEN/Jean Stein book award, worth $75,000 (£60,143), have withdrawn their books. Christina Sharpe, Catherine Lacey and Joseph Earl Thomas are among the withdrawing writers.

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Open letter criticising PEN America’s stance on Israel-Gaza war reaches 500 signatories

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Writers including Roxane Gay have called on the organisation to ‘wake up from its silent, tepid, self-congratulatory middle of the road and take a stand’

An open letter from writers and literary professionals to PEN America calling on the organisation to take a stronger stance on the Israel-Gaza war has reached more than 500 signatories, including writers Roxane Gay, Maaza Mengiste and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.

The letter, dated 3 February but still open to signatures, condemns PEN America for being “silent” about “Palestinian journalists, writers, and poets murdered by Israel” outside of “press releases buried on its website”.

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Salman Rushdie makes first public appearance since attack, praising ‘heroes’ who saved him

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A surprise speaker at the Pen America gala, the author said ‘if it had not been for these people, I most certainly would not be standing here’

Salman Rushdie has made his first public appearance since he was stabbed and lost sight in one eye after being attacked at a literary event, joking that it was “nice to be back – as opposed to not being back, which was also an option”.

Rushdie was a surprise attendee at the Pen America gala on Thursday night in New York. The author was greeted with a standing ovation according to the New York Times. After his remarks about being back, he said he was “pretty glad the dice rolled this way”.

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‘Immensely brave’: Abduljalil al-Singace named international writer of courage

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The Bahraini activist who is serving a life sentence in prison for his role in anti-government protests was chosen to share the PEN Pinter prize by Malorie Blackman

The academic, activist and blogger Abduljalil al-Singace from Bahrain has been named this year’s international writer of courage by Malorie Blackman. Al-Singace is serving a life sentence in prison for his role in Bahrain’s 2011 anti-government protests.

The award is part of the PEN Pinter prize, which goes to an author deemed to have fulfilled Harold Pinter’s aspiration to “define the real truth of our lives and our societies”. This year’s PEN Pinter winner was Blackman, the first children’s writer to be awarded the prize. She chose al-Singace as the international writer of courage, an award for an author who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs, with whom she will share her prize.

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Praise be: unburnable copy of The Handmaid’s Tale fetches $130,000

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The special edition of Margaret Atwood’s novel was auctioned by Sotheby’s and is made of Cinefoil, a treated aluminum product

A specially commissioned, unburnable edition of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been auctioned for $130,000, Sotheby’s announced Tuesday.

Proceeds will be donated to PEN America, which advocates for free expression worldwide. The 384-page book consists mainly of Cinefoil, a specially treated aluminum product, and was announced last month at PEN’s annual fundraising gala.

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Margaret Atwood joins writers calling for urgent action over missing Rwandan poet

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More than 100 authors from around the world have written to the Rwandan president about the case of Innocent Bahati, who disappeared a year ago today

Margaret Atwood, Ben Okri and JM Coetzee have joined more than 100 writers from around the world in calling on the Rwandan president to intervene in the case of the poet Innocent Bahati, who disappeared one year ago today.

According to human rights organisation PEN International, Bahati was last seen at a hotel in Nyanza district, in the Southern Province of Rwanda, on 7 February 2021. The poet, who is well-known in Rwanda and had published poetry on YouTube and Facebook, as well as regularly performing at live events, failed to return to Kigali, and his phones have been switched off since.

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White professor investigated for quoting James Baldwin’s use of N-word

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Laurie Sheck, who teaches at the New School, says inquiry followed a complaint that she had discussed Baldwin’s use of the slur

The Pulitzer-nominated poet Laurie Sheck, a professor at the New School in New York City, is being investigated by the university for using the N-word during a discussion about James Baldwin’s use of the racial slur.

The investigation has been condemned by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (Fire), which is calling on the New School to drop the “misguided” case because it “warns faculty and students that good-faith engagement with difficult political, social, and academic questions will result in investigation and possible discipline”.

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Turkish government destroys more than 300,000 books

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Regime says it is cracking down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen, the Muslim cleric it blames for 2016’s attempted coup

More than 300,000 books have been removed from Turkish schools and libraries and destroyed since the attempted coup of 2016, according to Turkey’s ministry of education.

Turkey’s education minister Ziya Selçuk announced last week that 301,878 books had been destroyed as the government cracks down on anything linked to Fethullah Gülen, the US-based Muslim cleric who is accused by Turkey of instigating 2016’s failed military coup. Gülen has denied involvement.

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