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 literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author.
Organizations
Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Ma ...
launched in 2009 by
English PEN 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 Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
, who had been a Vice President of English PEN and an active member of the
International PEN Writers in Prison 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 her
In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject (grammar), subject of a sentence (linguistics), sentence to a subject complement, such as the word '' ...
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.
Recipients
2009
* PEN Pinter Prize: Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...
, poet and playwright[
]
2010
* PEN Pinter Prize: Hanif Kureishi
2011
*PEN Pinter Prize: David Hare David Hare may refer to:
*David Hare (philanthropist) (1775–1842), Scottish philanthropist
*David Hare (artist) (1917–1992), American sculptor and photographer
*David Hare (playwright) (born 1947), English playwright and theatre and film direc ...
, playwright
*International Writer of Courage Award: Roberto Saviano, Italian writer and journalist[
]
2012
*PEN Pinter Prize: Carol Ann Duffy, poet
*International Writer of Courage Award: Samar Yazbek
Samar Yazbek ( ar, سمر يزبك, born 1970 in Jableh, Syria) is a Syrian writer and journalist. She studied Arabic literature at Tishreen University (Latakia). She has written in a wide variety of genres including novels, short stories, film scr ...
, 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
Iryna Khalip (or Irina Khalip; be, Iрына Халiп, russian: Ирина Халип) (born November 12, 1967) is a Belarusian journalist, reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of ''Novaya Gazeta'', known for her criticism of Belarusian Pres ...
, Belarusian journalist
2014
*PEN Pinter Prize: Salman Rushdie, novelist[
*International Writer of Courage Award: Mazen Darwish, 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 poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
*International Writer of Courage Award: Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury
Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury ( bn, আহমেদুর রশীদ চৌধুরী, also Tutul টুটুল) is a Bangladeshi publisher and writer. He won the 2016 Pinter International Writer of Courage Award, selected by writer Margaret At ...
, Bangladeshi publisher
2017
*PEN Pinter Prize: Michael Longley
*International Writer of Courage Award: Mahvash Sabet
Mahvash Sabet (born February 4, 1953) is an Iranian poet and former educator. She was one of the Baháʼí 7.
Early life and career
Mahvash Shahriyari was born in Ardestan, Iran. When she was in the fifth grade, her family moved to Tehran. Shahr ...
, Iranian poet and teacher
2018
*PEN Pinter Prize: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
*International Writer of Courage: Waleed Abulkhair
Waleed Sami Abulkhair ( ar, وليد أبوالخير) is a Saudi Arabian lawyer and human rights activist, and the head of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA) organization. He is the first activist to be prosecuted by the Terror ...
, Saudi lawyer and human rights activist
2019
*PEN Pinter Prize: Lemn SissayBefeqadu Hailu Befeqadu Hailu Techanie also written as Befekadu Hailu Techane ( am, በፍቃዱ ኃይሉ; born 19 February 1980) is an Ethiopian writer, activist, and blogger. He is a member of the Zone 9 bloggers group that were arrested in April 2014 due to th ...
, Ethiopian writer and blogger
2020
* PEN Pinter Prize: Linton Kwesi Johnson
* International Writer of Courage Award: Amanuel Asrat
Amanuel Asrat is an Eritrean poet and editor-in-chief of Addis Zemen (newspaper), Addis Zemen.
Awards
*PEN Pinter Prize, PEN Pinter Prize International Writer of Courage Award
*Oxfam Novib/PEN Award
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:A ...
, Eritrean poet
2021
* PEN Pinter Prize: Tsitsi Dangarembga
* International Writer of Courage Award: Kakwenza Rukirabashaija
Kakwenza Rukirabashaija (born 1 October 1988) is a Ugandan novelist and lawyer. He is the author of ''The Greedy Barbarian'' and ''Banana Republic: Where Writing is Treasonous''. He was named the PEN 2021 Pinter International Writer of Courage Aw ...
, Ugandan novelist
2022
* PEN Pinter Prize: Malorie Blackman
* International Writer of Courage Award: Abduljalil al-Singace
Abduljalil Abdulla al-Singace ( ar, عبدالجليل عبدالله السنكيس, born January 15, 1962) is a Bahraini engineer, blogger, and human rights activist. He was arrested in 2009 and 2010 for his human rights activities and released ...
See also
* Prison literature
References
External links
PEN Pinter Prize
− English PEN official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:PEN Pinter Prize
Awards established in 2009
2009 establishments in England
English PEN awards
Literary awards honouring human rights