A dozen writers boycott World Voices Festival over 'inadequate response' to Gaza

A group of a dozen prominent English-language writers have penned an open letter, in which they have said they will not participate in the upcoming World Voices Festival, organised by the organisation Pen America and taking place on 10-13 May.

The writers participating in the boycott include Naomi Klein; Michelle Alexander; Hisham Matar; Isabella Hammad; Maaza Mengiste; Zaina Arafat; and Susan Muaddi Darraj.

Their letter condemns Pen America, saying that the organisation has failed to support Palestinian writers, and failed to create any support for the ongoing attacks on writers in Gaza, where around 100 journalists have been killed by Israeli forces.

"PEN America has not launched any substantial coordinated support or issued any reports highlighting the scale and scope of the attacks on writers in Gaza, or on Palestinian speech and culture more broadly," the letter said.

"PEN America has done very little to mobilize or inspire its many members - quite unlike recent PEN America campaigns opposing the war in Ukraine and its impact on culture, or PEN International’s “Day of the Dead” honouring journalists killed in Latin America."