The literary and free expression group that grants hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes annually was set to host the ceremony in New York the following week.
“We all regret this outcome but ultimately concluded it was not possible to carry out a celebration in the way we had hoped and planned,” PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement on Monday. “This is a beloved event and an enormous amount of work goes into it,” Nossel added.
The decision was made as PEN-affiliated writers frequently denounced the Israel-Hamas war, escalating tensions throughout the United States.
