The annual PEN America Literary Gala is a highlight of the New York literary and social calendars, with an exceptional group of leading writers who serve as Literary Hosts. Every year, it is an inspiring, exhilarating, moving event as we honor those who embody PEN America’s mission to celebrate, champion, and defend freedom of expression. The proceeds from this dinner are crucial to PEN America’s dynamic cultural programming and critical advocacy work.
Images from 2024 event:
Photos by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images, Bryan Bedder/Getty Images, and Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for PEN America
"At PEN America, we’re not dogmatists. We’re not racing to be the first, the loudest, or most severe in our rhetoric. We are writers, readers, supporters and staff who lift up authors, books, and stories. We stand for free speech. We safeguard open discourse. We are inspired by the guiding light of our 102 year history. We persevere. We hold fast to our principles. And we thank you for your courage in standing with us tonight."
2024 Honorees
Business Visionary Honoree
Almar Latour
Chief Executive Officer, Dow Jones
Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
PEN/Barbey Freedom To Write Award
Phạm Đoan Trang
Vietnamese writer, publisher, journalist, and pro-democracy advocate
PEN/Benenson Courage Award
Ruby Freeman and Wandrea' "Shaye" Moss
Former Fulton County, Georgia Election Workers
Featuring
Andrea Mitchell
Gala Committee Co-Chairs
Colette Bennett • Markus Dohle • Sean Kelly • Anya Salama
Gala Committee Members
Pamela and Peter Barbey • Lawrence B. and Elyse Benenson • Laura Bickford and Stephen Graham
Kimberly Morgan Blank • Deirdre Finney Boylan and Jennifer Finney Boylan • John Chao • Bridget Colman
Roxanne Donovan • Patricia Duff • Lauren Embrey • Sheree and Jerry Friedman • Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Tom Healy and Fred P. Hochberg • Elizabeth Hemmerdinger • Tracy Higgins • Beth Hutchens • Ellen Israel
Linda Johnson and Bruce Ratner • Zachary Karabell • Patricia Fili-Krushel and Kenneth Krushel
Sandra Leong • Yvonne and Michael Marsh • Jay McInerney • Ken Miller and Lybess Sweezy • Michael Pietsch
Keri and Marvin Putnam • Alix L.L. Ritchie • Andrew Solomon and John Habich Solomon
Suzy and Sadek Wahba • Jamie Wolf
TO PURCHASE TABLES OR JOURNAL ADS
A limited number of tickets are available. For immediate assistance please email [email protected].
For questions about sponsorship information, please call 646-880-6116 or email [email protected].
Due to the high demand of this event, floor seating cannot be guaranteed.
Can’t make it on May 16 but still want to support PEN America?
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS
Gold
News Corp/Dow Jones/HarperCollins
Penguin Random House
Pfizer Inc.
Award Underwriters
Audible, Inc.
Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust
Lawrence B. and Elyse Benenson
Leadership
Anonymous (2) • Barnes & Noble • Roxanne Donovan and Tom Scarangello
Patricia Fili-Krushel, Kenneth Krushel, Lybess Sweezy and Ken Miller
Tom Healy and Fred P. Hochberg • Hearst • Elizabeth Hemmerdinger and Alix L.L. Ritchie
Keri and Marvin Putnam, and Jamie Wolf • Katharine Rayner • Anya and Albert Salama
Salesforce • Andrew Solomon and John Habich Solomon
Benefactors
Anonymous • Arnold & Porter • Willow Bay and Robert A. Iger
Amanda Bennett and Donald Graham • Colette and Daniel Bennett
Laura Bickford and Stephen Graham • Kimberly Morgan Blank
Bloomberg Philanthropies • Bridget Colman
Deloitte • Karin and Markus Dohle • Patricia Duff and Richard D. Cohen
Embrey Family Foundation • Deirdre Finney Boylan and Jennifer Finney Boylan
FoundRae • Sheree and Jerry Friedman • Ashley Garrett and Alan Jones
Hachette Book Group • Tracy Higgins and James Leitner • Ellen Israel
Linda Johnson and Bruce Ratner • Zachary Karabell • Sean and Mary Kelly & Family
Rocco and Debby Landesman • Sandra Leong • Macmillan Publishers
Caitlin Macy and Jeremy Barnum • Anne and Jay McInerney
Karen and Dennis Mehiel • The Michaels Family Foundation • Oliver Wyman
The Open Society Foundations • The Holly Peterson Foundation • Harry Ransom Center
Ann and Richard Sarnoff Family Foundation • Scholastic Inc. • Ian and Liesel Simmons
Simon & Schuster • TikTok • Ting Tsung & Wei Fong Chao Foundation
Suzy and Sadek Wahba • Maureen White and Steve Rattner
Annik and Michael Wolf/ The Activate Consulting Team • WSJ Wine
Patrons
Agnes Gund • Edelman • Hudson, an Avolta Company • The New Yorker
Friends
Jill Braufman and Daniel Nir • Brunswick Group • Candace Bushnell
Russell and Judy Carson • Brigitte and Evan Carzis • Venkat Chary, Zenon LLC
Creative Artists Agency • Maria Cuomo Cole • David Geffen Foundation
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP • Stacy Greene and Fred Wistow • IBM
Andrea Krantz and Harvey Sawikin • Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
Kati Marton • Nasdaq • National Basketball Association
Nederlander Organization • The New York Times
Richard Plepler and EDEN Productions • George Shea • Morwin Schmookler
Darcy Stacom and Chris Kraus • Noreene Storrie and Wesley G. McCain
Tech Mahindra • Teneo • Warner Bros. Discovery • Candace King Weir
WilmerHale • YouTube
(As of May 13, 2024)