Booker Prize-winning novelist Arundhati Roy, who is presently facing legal action over remarks she made about Kashmir 14 years ago, was awarded the esteemed Pen Pinter Prize 2024 on Thursday in recognition of her “unflinching and unswerving” writings.
The award, which honors literature and promotes freedom of expression in honor of Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, was founded in 2009 by the nonprofit organization English PEN. Roy expressed her happiness at being the winner this year in the midst of the world’s “incomprehensible turn.”
Congratulations to Arundhati Roy for winning the @englishpen PEN Pinter Prize 2024! The prize will be shared with a Writer of Courage selected by Roy, announced at the award ceremony on 10 October 2024. #ArundhatiRoy https://t.co/WUxeejgeW2
— PEN International (@pen_int) June 27, 2024
It gives me great pleasure to accept the PEN Pinter Prize. I wish Harold Pinter could still write today on the nearly unfathomable spiral the world is going in. Some of us have to try our hardest to fill his shoes since he’s not,” the 62-year-old Roy stated.
The judges this year, which included writer and musician Roger Robinson, actor and activist Khalid Abdalla, and chair of English PEN Ruth Borthwick, selected the well-known novelist, who was awarded the Booker Prize for her first book, “The God of Small Things.” On October 10, she will accept the honor and give a speech in an event co-hosted by the British Library.
“Roy uses humor and beauty to illustrate poignant stories of injustice. Although India continues to be a major area of interest, Borthwick stated that the woman is a true internationalist and that her strong voice should not be muffled.
Abdalla praised Arundhati Roy, saying, “She is a brilliant voice for justice and freedom, whose words have come with fierce clarity and determination for almost 30 years now.”
“There has been a great need this year for writers who are ‘unflinching and unwavering,’ as the world confronts the complex histories that have led to this moment in Gaza. This year, as we pay tribute to Arundhati Roy, we are honoring not just the dignity of her body of work but also the relevance of her remarks, which come at the perfect time and with such skill,” he remarked.
Robinson went on, “Arundhati Roy’s unmatched contribution to literature is demonstrated by the fact that she was the unanimous pick for this esteemed award.
“She has captivated readers worldwide with her vast body of work, which encompasses both fiction and non-fiction, consistently focusing on themes of social justice.”
The judges observed that Roy’s sharp analysis of topics ranging from violations of human rights to environmental degradation shows her dedication to standing up for the oppressed and questioning the status quo.
They remarked, “She is a deserving recipient of this honor due to her distinctive voice and unwavering dedication to these causes.”
A “Writer of Courage”—someone who actively defends the right to free speech, frequently at significant danger to their personal life and liberty—will share the prize. Arundhati Roy will choose and declare the co-winner from a shortlist of cases that English PEN has supported.
Indian writer Suzanna Arundhati Roy is most renowned for her book The God of Small Things, which became the best-selling work by an Indian author who was not born and raised and which was awarded the 1997 Booker Prize for Fiction. She also works as a political activist for environmental and human rights issues.
Some of her famous books are:
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The God of Small Things
Capitalism: A Ghost Story
AZADI: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction.
