PEN America calls off awards ceremony amid criticism over its response to Israel-Hamas war

Facing widespread unhappiness over its response to the Israel-Hamas war, the writers’ group PEN America has called off its annual awards ceremony. Dozens of nominees had dropped out of the event, which was to have taken place in New York next week. PEN hands out hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes each year, including $75,000 for the PEN/Jean Stein Award for best book. Authors affiliated with PEN have repeatedly denounced the organization for allegedly favoring Israel and downplaying atrocities against Palestinian writers and journalists. PEN has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has helped set up a $100,000 emergency fund for Palestinian writers.