After a Season of Protest, PEN America’s Literary Gala Goes Forward

PEN America’s annual gala, held under the giant blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, typically draws writers and deep-pocketed supporters to toast the group’s mission of defending free expression at home and abroad.

But as this year’s event approached, many in the literary community were wondering if the show would go on at all.

For months, PEN America has been roiled by internal and external criticism of its response to the war in Gaza. Last month, the group canceled its literary awards ceremony and then its annual World Voices Festival, after dozens of writers withdrew to protest what they said was a failure to adequately speak out about the dire threats to Palestinian writers and culture posed by Israel’s military campaign.

The gala, which was expected to raise roughly $2 million, went on as planned on Thursday, though not exactly as usual. Outside, protesters from the group Writers Against the War on Gaza, wearing evening dress, passed out mock programs welcoming guests with assurances that “our efforts to silence dissent and normalize genocide would not be possible without your steadfast support, engagement and, most importantly, your dollars.”

Inside, more than 600 guests, including the writers Malcolm Gladwell, Gary Shteyngart, Jay McInerney and Claire Messud, circulated during pre-dinner cocktails. One guest wore a T-shirt that said “Not in Our Name, Jews for a Ceasefire Now.” Others seemed bewildered by the intensity of the anger at PEN America itself.