On the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, the writer Xu Zhiyong is named PEN America’s 2020 winner of the Barbey/Freedom To Write Award.
Industry Notes: Hay Festival Serves 490,000 Streams; Costa Awards Open for Entries
Hay Festival organizers in Wales are outspoken about the broad participation they’ve had in the digital iteration of their flagship event, while the Costa program has called for entries in its 49th edition.
The UAE’s Sheikh Zayed Book Award Opens Submissions for 2021 Prize Cycle
Now in its 15th year of prizes, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award leadership is looking to surpass last year’s record level of submissions.
The UK Society of Authors 2020 Shortlists: Winners on June 18
Five of the Society of Authors-administered prize programs with a combined £100,000 at stake are to be awarded in digital programming next month.
PEN America’s Inaugural Freedom To Write Index: 238 Imprisoned
The new PEN America Freedom To Write Index provides an unprecedented overview of international suppression and detention. China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey lead.
Award Notes: New York Public Library’s ‘Young Lions’ Finalists Named
The program Ethan Hawke and others co-founded to honor published authors aged 35 and younger now is in its 20th year, a winner to be named in the fall.
Amid ‘the ‘Low-Level Hum of Panic,’ the UK’s Young Writer Award Names Its Jury
One juror for the 2020 Young Writer of the Year award says she hopes ‘we won’t see a rash of virus or pandemic stories.’
US Writer Bryan Washington Wins Wales’ £30,000 Dylan Thomas Prize
Bryan Washington, focused on what he calls ‘marginalized communities, communities of color, and queer communities of color’ wins the 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize.
Women’s Prize for Fiction Shortlist: ‘We’re All So Proud of These Books’
The UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction digitally announces its shortlist for 2020, which includes big-name authors Hilary Mantel and Bernardine Evaristo.
Aspen Words Names UK-Based Christy Lefteri Its 2020 Prizewinner
The 2019 ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ is by a daughter of Cypriot refugees and restates the still-young Aspen Words’ program’s internationalism.