Ann Patchett accepts PEN award; gala raises $2M

Ann Patchett accepted the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award at PEN America’s annual Literary Gala on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, according to PEN America and Associated Press coverage of the event. (pen.org) PEN America said the dinner raised more than $2 million for the organization, which advocates for free expression and runs literary and public programs. The gala unfolded as PEN America and the American Library Association have each reported thousands of book removals or challenges in schools and libraries. (wtop.com) Patchett used her remarks to ask the room to pause and “marvel” that people still want to write and read books. (pen.org) ### Why was Ann Patchett being honored that night? PEN America announced in December that Patchett, the novelist and essayist known for books including “Bel Canto” and “The Dutch House,” would receive its 2026 PEN/Audible Literary Service Award. The organization said the award recognized her literary work and service to books and reading. Thursday’s event paired Patchett with a second honoree, film producer Jason Blum, who received PEN America’s Business Visionary Award, according to the gala announcement and event page. PEN America listed Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Colette Bennett and Karen Mehiel as gala co-chairs. (pen.org) ### What did Patchett say in the room? Patchett told attendees at the museum that its setting offered perspective beyond the immediate political fight over books, according to Associated Press coverage carried by multiple outlets. She said the history of nature held “both extreme beauty and violence,” then urged guests to consider that books and reading endure. (pen.org) One line from Patchett’s remarks became the clearest distillation of the night’s tone. “Let us marvel that people still want to write books, and that we want to read them,” she said, according to the AP account. (pen.org) ### Why did PEN America frame the gala around free expression? PEN America said on its gala page that the event honors people who stand at the front lines of free expression and literature. The organization has made book bans a central part of that work, publishing school censorship reports and advocacy materials. Its latest book-ban report said 6,870 book bans were enacted during the 2024-25 school year across 23 states and 87 public school districts. (wtop.com) The American Library Association said its Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025 across public, school and academic libraries, the second-highest total it has documented. (newsday.com) Summer Lopez, PEN America’s co-CEO, tied those numbers to a broader warning in remarks reported by the AP. “First, they come for your freedom of expression,” Lopez said. “Without that freedom to raise your voice, it is much easier to strip away all of your other rights.” (pen.org) ### Who else was in the room? Amy Tan, Walter Isaacson and Rebecca Yarros were among the table hosts for the fundraising dinner, according to the AP report. The event drew authors, publishers and advocates, matching PEN America’s description of the gala as a gathering of literary and civic figures. (pen.org) Photos and event coverage also placed Blum and television host Seth Meyers at the museum on May 14. PEN America has described the gala as one of its signature annual fundraisers. (accesswdun.com) ### What does the $2 million figure pay for? PEN America said the gala supports its free-expression advocacy and programs. The group’s public materials say that work includes book-ban tracking, defense of writers and journalists, prison-writing and translation programs, and reporting on academic and press freedom. (usnews.com) The money matters because the organization has continued to expand its censorship-tracking work as school and library disputes persist. PEN America’s book-ban page directs readers to its latest reports and state-by-state data, while the American Library Association continues to publish annual challenge totals. (winnipegfreepress.com) ### What comes next after the gala? PEN America’s gala site remains the main public record for the 2026 event, including its honorees and hosts, and the organization’s book-ban page links to its latest censorship reports. The next concrete milestone in this story is continued publication of PEN America and American Library Association data on book removals, challenges and related advocacy in 2026. (wtop.com) (pen.org 1) (pen.org 2)