PEN Pinter Prize

The PEN Pinter Prize and the Pinter International Writer of Courage Award both comprise an annual literary award launched in 2009 by English PEN in honour of the late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, who had been a Vice President of English PEN and an active member of the .International PEN Writers in Committee (WiPC).^[1][2] The award is given to "a British writer or a writer resident in Britain of outstanding literary merit who, in the words of Pinter’s Nobel speech ['Art, Truth and Politics'], casts an 'unflinching, unswerving' gaze upon the world and shows 'a fierce, intellectual determination … to define the real truth of our lives and our societies'."^[3][4] The Prize is shared with an "International Writer of Courage," defined as "someone who has been persecuted for speaking out about [his or her] beliefs," selected by English PEN's Writers at Risk Committee in consultation with the annual Prize winner, and announced during an award ceremony held at the British Library, on or around 10 October, the anniversary of Pinter's birth.^[1][5]

The PEN Pinter Prize is one of the many PEN literary awards sponsored by PEN International affiliates in "more than 200" PEN International Centers located around the world.

Recipients

2009

• PEN Pinter Prize: Tony Harrison, poet and playwright^[4]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Zarganar (Maung Thura), Burmese artist ^[1][6]

2010

• PEN Pinter Prize: Hanif Kureishi^[7]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and human rights activist^[7]

2011

• PEN Pinter Prize: David Hare, playwright^[8]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Roberto Saviano, Italian writer and journalist^[2]

2012

• PEN Pinter Prize: Carol Ann Duffy, poet^[9]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Samar Yazbek, Syrian writer^[10]

2013

• PEN Pinter Prize: Tom Stoppard, playwright^[11]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Iryna Khalip, Belarusian journalist ^[12]

2014

• PEN Pinter Prize: Salman Rushdie, novelist^[5][13]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Mazen Darwish, Syrian lawyer and journalist^[14]

2015

• PEN Pinter Prize: James Fenton^[15]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Raif Badawi, Saudi activist

2016

• PEN Pinter Prize: Margaret Atwood^[16]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury, Bangladeshi publisher^[17]

2017

• PEN Pinter Prize: Michael Longley^[18]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Mahvash Sabet, Iranian poet and teacher^[19]

2018

• PEN Pinter Prize: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie^[20]
• International Writer of Courage: Waleed Abulkhair, Saudi lawyer and human rights activist^[21]

2019

• PEN Pinter Prize: Lemn Sissay^[22]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Befeqadu Hailu, Ethiopian writer and blogger^[23]

2020

• PEN Pinter Prize: Linton Kwesi Johnson^[24]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Amanuel Asrat, Eritrean poet^[25]

2021

• PEN Pinter Prize: Tsitsi Dangarembga^[26]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Ugandan novelist^[27][28]

2022

• PEN Pinter Prize: Malorie Blackman^[29]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Abduljalil al-Singace^[30]

2023

• PEN Pinter Prize: Michael Rosen^[31]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Rahile Dawut, Uyghur imprisoned academic^[32]

2024

• PEN Pinter Prize: Arundhati Roy^[33][34]
• International Writer of Courage Award: Alaa Abd El-Fattah, British-Egyptian writer and activist^[35]

See also

• Prison literature

References

1. "PEN Pinter Prize". English PEN (official webpage). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
2. Collett-White, Mike (10 October 2011). "Mafia Writer Saviano Awarded PEN/Pinter Prize in UK". Reuters. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
3. Pinter, Harold (8 December 2005). "Art, Truth and Politics". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
4. Flood, Alison (22 September 2009). "Tony Harrison Wins Inaugural PEN/Pinter Prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
5. "What's On: The PEN Pinter Prize 2014". British Library. October 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
6. "Political Prisoner Release Should Prompt Continued Pressure on Myanmar". Amnesty International. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
7. Flood, Alison (17 September 2010). "Hanif Kureishi Scoops PEN Pinter Prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
8. "David Hare Wins Pinter Literary Prize". BBC News. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
9. "Carol Ann Duffy Awarded PEN Pinter Prize". BBC News. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
10. Flood, Alison (9 October 2012). "Syrian Author Shares PEN/Pinter Prize with Carol Ann Duffy". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
11. "Playwright Tom Stoppard Wins PEN/Pinter Prize". AP. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
12. Sharp, Robert (8 October 2013). "Tom Stoppard Announces Belarus Writer Iryna Khalip As Winner of the PEN/Pinter International Writer of Courage Award 2013". English PEN. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
13. [Ziemer], Julia (20 June 2014). "Salman Rushdie Awarded the 2014 PEN/Pinter Prize". English PEN. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
14. Flood, Alison (10 October 2014). "Salman Rushdie to share PEN Pinter prize with Mazen Darwish". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
15. Sharp, Robert (June 2015). "James Fenton awarded 2015 PEN Pinter Prize". English PEN. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
16. Sharp, Robert (16 June 2016). "Margaret Atwood awarded 2016 PEN Pinter Prize". English PEN. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
17. Flood, Alison (13 October 2016). "Margaret Atwood selects Tutul for Pen writer of courage award". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
18. Sharp, Robert (1 June 2017). "Michael Longley CBE awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2017". Retrieved 28 April 2018.
19. Sharp, Robert (10 October 2017). "Bahá'í poet Mahvash Sabet shares 2017 PEN Pinter Prize with Michael Longley". Retrieved 28 April 2018.
20. "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wins PEN Pinter Prize". The Irish Times. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
21. Flood, Alison (9 October 2018). "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie accepts PEN Pinter prize with call to speak out". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
22. Press Association (3 June 2019). "Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay wins the PEN Pinter prize". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
23. Flood, Alison (11 October 2019). "Lemn Sissay and Befeqadu Hailu share 2019 PEN Pinter prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
24. Flood, Alison (7 July 2020). "'Living legend' Linton Kwesi Johnson wins PEN Pinter prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
25. Flood, Alison (13 October 2020). "Eritrean poet Amanuel Asrat named International Writer of Courage". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
26. Bayley, Sian (8 June 2021). "Zimbabwean novelist Dangarembga wins PEN Pinter Prize 2021". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
27. Flood, Alison (11 October 2021). "Kakwenza Rukirabashaija named this year's International Writer of Courage". The Guardian.
28. Bayley, Sian (11 October 2021). "Ugandan novelist Rukirabashaija named 2021 International Writer of Courage". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
29. Shaffi, Sarah (21 June 2022). "Malorie Blackman's 'dynamic imaginary worlds' win her the PEN Pinter prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
30. "Malorie Blackman shares PEN Pinter Prize 2022 with Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace". English Pen. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
31. "The PEN Pinter Prize 2023: Michael Rosen". British Library. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
32. Knight, Lucy (11 October 2023). "Imprisoned Uyghur academic named 2023 PEN international writer of courage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
33. "Arundhati Roy awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2024". English PEN. 27 June 2024. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024.
34. Mollan, Cherylann (27 June 2024). "Arundhati Roy wins PEN Pinter Prize for 'powerful voice'". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 June 2024.
35. Knight, Lucy (11 October 2024). "Imprisoned British-Egyptian activist named PEN writer of courage 2024". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2024.

External links

• PEN Pinter Prize − English PEN official webpage