PEN America Cancel Awards After Writers’ Gaza Boycott

PEN America cancel awards after writers’ Gaza boycott, according to official reports and communiqué released to the public.

PEN America, a prominent literary organization, has cancelled its annual award ceremony after scores of nominated writers withdrew in protest over the conflict in Gaza.

The group, which promotes free expression, stated on Monday that it would cancel next week’s event.

Nine of the ten writers nominated for a PEN Book Award withdrew due to the contest’s claimed lack of support for Palestinian writers.

The decision comes amid a burgeoning protest movement in the United States in support of Gaza.

According to the group’s statement, 28 of the 61 authors and translators nominated for the prize withdrew their books from consideration.

“This is a beloved event and an enormous amount of work goes into it, so we all regret this outcome but ultimately concluded it was not possible to carry out a celebration in the way we had hoped and planned,” said Suzanne Nossel, the company’s chief executive officer.

Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, Chief Officer of Literary Programming at PEN America, adding, “We greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not.”

“We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful and hard-working judges across all categories,” she said in a statement.

A number of open letters signed by PEN nominees in recent weeks have criticized the organization for supposedly siding with Gaza in the conflict that erupted following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

“In the context of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, we believe that PEN America has betrayed the organization’s professed commitment to peace and equality for all, as well as freedom and security for writers everywhere,” stated a letter signed last month by several famous writers, including Michelle Alexander, Naomi Klein, and Zaina Arafat.

The writers claimed that the group served as a “cultural front for American exceptionalism” and was engaged in “normalizing genocide”.

READ ALSO: Buffalo Sabres Hire Lindy Ruff as Head Coach