The new award seeks to raise awareness of “courageous voices and the contexts in which they work,” and to “reaffirm the vital role of literature and free expression.”

By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief

PEN International and Feltrinelli Publishing this week released the shortslist for a new award, announced this past march, which seeks to raise awareness of “courageous voices and the contexts in which they work,” and to “reaffirm the vital role of literature and free expression.”

The finalists for the inaugural PEN–Inge Feltrinelli Writing as Resistance Award includes eight courageous writers from around the world, and one group nomination of four Eritrean writers, writers whose work “challenges oppression and amplifies silenced voices.” The award is named for Inge Feltrinelli, who, as a photojournalist and later as a publisher, “always believed that books were not merely cultural objects, but instruments through which people could reach out to one another.”

Aziz Isa Elkun (Uyghur, China): a poet, writer, translator and editor, and President of Uyghur PEN, Elkun lives in forced exile and has been the target of transnational repression. “In response to the cultural erasure carried out by the government of the People’s Republic of China in Xinjiang, he has dedicated his work to bringing the writings of Uyghur poets and authors to international audiences.”

Samay Hamed (Afghanistan): a poet, writer, publisher, composer, filmmaker and Executive Director of PEN Afghanistan, Hamed is also a medical doctor, and one of the leading figures in Afghanistan’s literary community and a committed advocate for freedom of expression. “An outspoken critic of the Taliban regime and other extremist groups… he has championed the rights and voices of Afghan writers, including women, LGBTQI people and linguistic minorities, while supporting writers forced into exile and those who remain in the country.”

Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua): a poet, novelist, essayist and President of the now suppressed PEN Nicaragua, Belli “combines literature with an ethical commitment to freedom of expression,” and has “consistently advocated for persecuted writers and journalists, denouncing attacks on freedom of expression and defending their right to write freely.” In recent years, she has been “stripped of her nationality and forced into exile, facing criminal charges and reprisals for her writing, activism and work with PEN International.”

Miguel Ángel Oxlaj Cúmez (Maya Kaqchikel, Guatemala): a poet, translator, editor, and cultural organizer, and a member of PEN Guatemala, Cúmez “has played a fundamental role in connecting literary creation with communities that continue to write, think and imagine the world in Indigenous languages. His work takes place in a context marked by structural racism, exclusion, and the historical denial of rights.”

Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine): Kurkov is one of Ukraine’s most distinguished contemporary writers, journalists, and screenwriters, and the author of more than 20 novels and 10 children’s books, he has been described by The New York Times as Ukraine’s best-known living writer, known for his “ability to portray Soviet and post-Soviet realities through surreal elements.” An activist and critic of Vladimir Putin, Kurkov was declared persona non grata in Russia in 2005. His books were banned there in 2014, and he was later placed on a Kremlin list of pro-Ukrainian activists.

Yavuz Ekinci (Türkiye): a writer, teacher, and editor Ekinci’s work focuses primarily on the condition of the Kurdish people in Türkiye. “A PEN International case, Ekinci has faced prosecution and censorship for writing about difficult and contested themes, including Kurdish identity, political persecution, and displacement. His novel Dream Divided was banned and he faced ‘terrorist propaganda’ charges in connection with the book.”

Zukiswa Wanner (South Africa): a Zambian-born South African novelist, editor, publisher, Wanner’s work includes five novels, two nonfiction books, four children’s books and an extensive editorial portfolio. “She is also an activist with the Sumud Flotilla, whose participants were intercepted and detained by Israeli security forces.”

 Leila Guerriero (Argentina): an Argentine journalist, writer, and editor, Guerriero is widely recognized as one of the leading voices in contemporary Spanish-language narrative journalism. “For more than three decades, she has documented the political, social, and cultural transformations of Latin America, using literary nonfiction to preserve memory, challenge dominant narratives, and defend human dignity.”

Group Nomination (Eritrea): Amanuel Asrat; Dawit Isaak; Idris Said (Abu Are); and Fessehaye (Joshua) Yohannes. This group nomination includes writers among the 12 journalists and authors arbitrarily arrested by the Eritrean authorities and held incommunicado since September 2001. “The year 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of their arrest and disappearance. The nomination highlights the persecution they have endured and the literary contributions of four members of the group.”

Amanuel Asrat  is journalist, poet, art critic and songwriter; Dawit Isaak, is a journalist, writer and playwright; Idris Said (Abu Are), is a journalist, writer and translator; and Fessehaye (Joshua) is a journalist, writer, playwright and poet.

Open to authors worldwide, the winner of the inaugural award will be announced during BookCity Milano, in November.

“In these times of crisis, which seem to offer no respite, we continue to move as though normality were still intact, while the world around us shows ever more evident cracks. It therefore becomes essential to preserve and nurture everything that represents an alternative culture: a critical space, often marginal yet vital, capable of challenging the dominant narrative of those who hold power,” said Carlo Feltrinelli, Chair of the Jury of the Inge Feltrinelli Prize, in a statement announcing the award in March. “Through writing of all kinds—investigative, literary, poetic—we keep the spotlight on places and lives that too often remain at the margins of our attention, making a small yet tenacious gesture of resistance against dehumanization.”