Arundhati Roy, the Booker Prize-winning author known for her fearless literary voice, has been awarded the prestigious Pen Pinter Prize 2024.
The accolade, presented by the charity English PEN in memory of Nobel Laureate playwright Harold Pinter, honours writers who exhibit an “unflinching, unswerving” commitment to truth and justice.
Roy, who faces potential prosecution for comments made on Kashmir 14 years ago, expressed her delight at receiving the prize amid what she described as an “incomprehensible turn” in global affairs.
“I am delighted to accept the PEN Pinter prize. I wish Harold Pinter were with us today to write about the almost incomprehensible turn the world is taking. Since he isn’t, some of us must do our utmost to try to fill his shoes,” said the 62-year-old author.
Best known for her debut novel ‘The God of Small Things,’ which won the Booker Prize, Roy was selected by a panel of judges comprising Ruth Borthwick, Chair of English PEN; actor and activist Khalid Abdalla; and writer and musician Roger Robinson.
They lauded her for her unwavering dedication to social justice through both her fiction and non-fiction works.
Ruth Borthwick praised Roy’s ability to tell urgent stories of injustice with both wit and beauty.
“While India remains an important focus, she is truly an internationalist thinker, and her powerful voice is not to be silenced,” Borthwick noted.
Khalid Abdalla spotlighted the significance of Roy’s work in the current global context.
“Arundhati Roy is a luminous voice of freedom and justice whose words have come with fierce clarity and determination for almost 30 years now. This year, as the world faces the deep histories that have created this moment in Gaza, our need for writers who are ‘unflinching and unswerving’ has been immense. In honouring Arundhati Roy this year, we are celebrating both the dignity of her body of work and the timeliness of her words, that arrive with the depth of her craft exactly when we need them most,” he said.
Roger Robinson echoed these sentiments, stating, “Arundhati Roy was the unanimous choice for this prestigious award, a testament to her unparalleled contribution to literature. Her vast body of work, encompassing both fiction and non-fiction, has not only captivated readers worldwide but also consistently focused on themes of social justice.”
The judges noted that Roy’s incisive commentary on issues ranging from environmental degradation to human rights abuses underscores her commitment to advocating for the marginalised and challenging the status quo.
“Her unique voice and unwavering dedication to these causes make her a deserving recipient of this honour,” they said.
Roy will receive the award at a ceremony co-hosted by the British Library on October 10, where she will also deliver an address.
The Pen Pinter Prize will be shared with a “Writer of Courage,” an individual who defends freedom of expression at great personal risk. Roy will select this co-winner from a shortlist supported by English PEN.
The Pen Pinter Prize, established in 2009, is awarded annually to a writer of outstanding literary merit resident in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, or the Commonwealth.
The prize celebrates those who, in Pinter’s words, cast an “unflinching, unswerving” gaze upon the world and demonstrate a “fierce intellectual determination… to define the real truth of our lives and our societies.”
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