The PEN Pinter Prize and the Pinter International Writer of Courage Award both comprise an annual
literary award
A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations
Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...
launched in 2009 by
English PEN
Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...
in honour of the late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
, who had been a Vice President of English PEN and an active member of the
.International PEN Writers in Committee (WiPC).
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'."
[ The Prize is shared with an "International Writer of Courage," defined as "someone who has been persecuted for speaking out about is or herbeliefs," 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
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
, on or around 10 October, the anniversary of Pinter's birth.PEN International
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...
affiliates in "more than 200" PEN International Centers located around the world.
Recipients
2009
* PEN Pinter Prize: Tony Harrison, poet and playwright[
]
2010
* PEN Pinter Prize: Hanif Kureishi
2011
*PEN Pinter Prize: David Hare, playwright
*International Writer of Courage Award: Roberto Saviano, Italian writer and journalist[
]
2012
*PEN Pinter Prize: Carol Ann Duffy
Dame Carol Ann Duffy (born 23 December 1955) is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Poet Laureate in May 2009, and her term expired in 2019. She wa ...
, poet
*International Writer of Courage Award: Samar Yazbek, Syrian writer
2013
*PEN Pinter Prize: Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
, playwright
*International Writer of Courage Award: Iryna Khalip, Belarusian journalist
2014
*PEN Pinter Prize: Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
, novelist[
*International Writer of Courage Award: ]Mazen Darwish
Mazen Darwish () is a Syrian lawyer and free speech advocate. He is the president of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression. News organizations, including Reuters and the Associated Press, have described him as one of Syria's most ...
, Syrian lawyer and journalist
2015
*PEN Pinter Prize: James Fenton
*International Writer of Courage Award: Raif Badawi, Saudi activist
2016
*PEN Pinter Prize: Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
*International Writer of Courage Award: Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury, Bangladeshi publisher
2017
*PEN Pinter Prize: Michael Longley
Michael George Longley (27 July 1939 – 22 January 2025) was a Northern Irish poet. In his later years Longley observed: "It's a mystery where poems come from. If I knew where poems came from I would go there ... When I write a poem I am movi ...
*International Writer of Courage Award: Mahvash Sabet, Iranian poet and teacher
2018
*PEN Pinter Prize: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born Grace Ngozi Adichie; 15 September 1977) is a Nigerians, Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, poem, and children's books; she is also a book reviewer and literary critic. Her most famous works include ''Purple ...
*International Writer of Courage: Waleed Abulkhair, Saudi lawyer and human rights activist
2019
*PEN Pinter Prize: Lemn Sissay
2020
* PEN Pinter Prize: Linton Kwesi Johnson
* International Writer of Courage Award: Amanuel Asrat, Eritrean poet
2021
* PEN Pinter Prize: Tsitsi Dangarembga
* International Writer of Courage Award: Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, Ugandan novelist
2022
* PEN Pinter Prize: Malorie Blackman
* International Writer of Courage Award: Abduljalil al-Singace
2023
* PEN Pinter Prize: Michael Rosen
* International Writer of Courage Award: Rahile Dawut, Uyghur imprisoned academic
2024
* PEN Pinter Prize: Arundhati Roy
Suzanna Arundhati Roy (; born 24 November 1961) is an Indian author best known for her novel ''The God of Small Things'' (1997), which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author. ...
* International Writer of Courage Award: Alaa Abd El-Fattah, British-Egyptian writer and activist
See also
* Prison literature
References
External links
PEN Pinter Prize
− English PEN
Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...
official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:PEN Pinter Prize
Awards established in 2009
2009 establishments in England
English PEN awards
Literary awards honouring human rights