The PEN America ceremony was canceled due to protests from writers opposing the Gaza war.
PEN America canceled its prestigious 2024 awards ceremony after nearly half of the writers nominated for the award withdrew their works in protest of the organization’s stance on the Gaza war.
The organization, dedicated to freedom of expression, announced on Monday the cancellation of the April 29 awards ceremony in New York City.
This year, around 28 out of 61 writers and translators nominated for the award withdrew their books, citing PEN America’s lack of support for Palestinian writers.
Reports indicate that out of every ten authors nominated for the $75,000 Stein Book Award, the most prestigious honorary award of the event, nine withdrew their works from the judging process.
The boycott of this organization by these writers occurred amid growing dissatisfaction in the literary field over PEN America’s response to Israel’s ongoing bombing of Gaza.