The free expression organization PEN America has canceled its annual World Voices Festival after a wave of participants withdrew, spurred by a boycott campaign led by writers who say the group’s response to the war in Gaza has been insufficiently critical of Israel.
The festival, which was supposed to begin on May 8, was canceled on Friday, days after PEN America canceled the prize ceremony for its literary awards after nearly half of the nominees withdrew in protest.
The festival, held in New York and Los Angeles, was to have included writers from around the world and dozens of panels, readings and events.
In a news release, PEN America said it made the decision because a growing number of writers had pulled out of the festival, some because of differences with the group as well as some who said they had felt pressured to do so and felt “genuine fear.”“As an organization that cares deeply about the freedom of writers to speak their conscience, we are concerned about any circumstance in which writers tell us they feel shut down, or that speaking their minds bears too much risk,” the statement said.
“Amid this climate, it became impossible to mount the festival in keeping with the principles upon which it was founded 20 years ago.”
Persons:
PEN America, “, ”
Organizations:
PEN America, PEN
Locations:
Gaza, Israel, New York, Los Angeles