Last night, we bestowed over $350,000 to writers, translators, poets, essaysists, editors, and journalists at our 2022 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony, in what was a truly thrilling and momentous evening. Hosted by Emmy Award-winning late night host Seth Meyers, this year’s in-person celebration, which gathered hundreds of readers and writers from all over the country, was a testament to the resilience of New York City’s literary community, as well as the power of literature and stories to unite us in uncertain and challenging times. 

Among this year’s winners were: PEN/Jean Stein Book Award winner Daisy Hernández for The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease; PEN Open Book Award recipient Divya Victor for Curb; Yoon Choi, who won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection for Skinship; and Torrey Peters, who won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel for Detransition, Baby, among many others. 

In addition to celebrating the year’s best books, we also paid tribute to this year’s three career achievement honorees—Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Elaine May, and Jackie Sibblies Drury. Five-time Emmy Award winner Candice Bergen presented the PEN/Mike Nichols Writing for Performance Award honoring Elaine May, and Wanjikũ wa Ngũgĩ, Nducu wa Ngugi, and Mukoma wa Ngugi, recognized their father Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o with the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. Award-winning directors Lileana Blaine-Cruz and Sarah Benson presented Jackie Sibblies Drury with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award, while actress Quincy Tyler Bernstine performed scenes from Drury’s Marys Seacole.

Following the ceremony, we gathered across the street from Town Hall for a candlelight vigil in support of a free Ukraine. Artist, composer, and musician Laurie Anderson and acclaimed authors Jennifer Egan, Gary Shteyngart, and Ann Patchett read from the works of Ukrainian thinkers and poets. In the wake of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine, Ukrainian writers, intellectuals, journalists, and activists who have spoken out against Putin’s abuses face grave dangers. The vigil was held in a demonstration of solidarity with the writers, artists, and citizens of Ukraine, who have remained resolute in defense of their rights and democracy. 

Please join us in applauding all our winners and finalists, as well as our stellar panel of judges, without whom our awards program would not have been possible. Click here to watch last night’s ceremony.

And if you are able, please consider supporting PEN America's crucial work in celebrating literature and writers with a donation. Your contribution ensures that the voices of writers, both here and around the world, will continue to be heard.

Thank you,

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