PEN America gala raises $2 million

PEN America said its annual Literary Gala on May 14 raised more than $2 million at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, bringing together more than 600 writers, publishers, journalists and entertainment figures for one of the organization’s biggest fundraising events of the year. The group said the money supports its literary programs and advocacy around the freedom to read, write and speak. Ann Patchett received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, and film producer Jason Blum received the Business Visionary Award. B.J. Novak hosted the evening, and Maya Hawke presented Blum’s award. ### How much money did the gala raise, and what does PEN America say it funds? PEN America said the gala raised more than $2 million for the century-old literary and free-expression organization. On its event page, the group said the annual gala raises support for cultural programs and advocacy defending the freedom to read, write and speak. (pen.org) The American Museum of Natural History hosted the May 14 event in Manhattan. PEN America described the gala as its 16th annual edition and said it honored people and organizations tied to literature and free expression. ### Who were the main honorees that night? Ann Patchett, the novelist and Nashville bookseller known for “Bel Canto” and “The Dutch House,” received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award. (abcnews.com) PEN America said it was recognizing both her fiction and her work championing independent bookselling and literary community through Parnassus Books. (pen.org) Jason Blum, the founder and chief executive of Blumhouse, received the Business Visionary Award. PEN America said it chose Blum for a body of film and television work that includes “Get Out,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Whiplash,” “The Jinx” and “The Normal Heart.” PEN America also honored the Rutherford County Library Alliance of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with a courage award, and Iranian writers Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi with the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, according to the organization’s post-event release. (pen.org) ### What did Patchett and Blum say from the stage? (pen.org) Ann Patchett used her remarks to point to the museum setting and to books themselves. According to the Associated Press report carried by ABC News, she told the audience that the museum showed both beauty and violence in nature and added that people should “marvel that people still want to write books, and that we want to read them.” (pen.org) Jason Blum spoke after an introduction from Maya Hawke, who described him as a longtime family figure and creative mentor. The Associated Press report said Blum joked about horror films’ long history of bad reviews and then accepted the award after Hawke’s presentation. ### Who else appeared at the event? (abcnews.com) B.J. Novak hosted the program. In PEN America’s account of the evening, Novak used his opening monologue to argue for the staying power of human creativity, saying, “Real life is making a comeback” and “Real ideas are making a comeback.” Amy Tan, Walter Isaacson and Rebecca Yarros were among the table hosts for the fundraising dinner, according to the Associated Press report. (abcnews.com) PEN America said the crowd included writers, publishers, journalists and arts and entertainment figures. ### Why was free expression central to the evening? Summer Lopez, PEN America’s co-CEO, tied the gala to the group’s broader advocacy work. (pen.org) In remarks reported by the Associated Press, Lopez said attacks on free expression make it easier to erode other rights and said PEN saw an opportunity to mobilize support for free expression. (abcnews.com) PEN America said the gala came amid what it called mounting censorship, rising jailing of writers and concern about artificial intelligence’s effect on creativity. Its release also pointed to its latest Freedom to Write Index, which it said showed a rise in arrests of Iranian writers. ### Where can readers find the next public details from PEN America? (abcnews.com) PEN America’s gala page remains live with the May 14 event details, including honorees, hosts, afterparty information and contact details for sponsorships, tables and tickets. The organization’s press release from May 15 also lists the honorees and attendance figures from the New York event. (pen.org 1) (pen.org 2)