Amber Ruffin Hosts PEN Gala, Sarah Jessica Parker Honored/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ At PEN America’s annual gala, Amber Ruffin hosted a star-studded evening championing free expression and resisting censorship. Sarah Jessica Parker received a top literary honor, while tributes went to imprisoned Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy and others. The event marked PEN’s return after controversy and cancellations in 2024.
PEN America Gala Defends Free Speech, Honors Literary Champions: Quick Looks
- Amber Ruffin hosted PEN’s annual gala in New York, joking about being “banned” from the White House Correspondents Dinner.
- Sarah Jessica Parker received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award for her publishing work and defense of libraries.
- Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy was honored in absentia with the Freedom to Write Award, accepted by his family.
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills earned applause for defying Trump, suing and winning over transgender athlete funding cuts.
- PEN recognized Macmillan CEO Jon Yaged with a Business Visionary award, presented by actor Taye Diggs.
- Wesleyan President Michael Roth received the Courage Award, calling for resistance to rising authoritarianism.
- Ruffin sharply criticized Trump and praised PEN for defending voices like hers.
- PEN is still recovering from 2024’s controversies, including backlash over its response to Gaza and canceled events.
- Some authors withdrew from this year’s awards, but others returned, with prize money redirected to Palestinian causes.
- The gala spotlighted global threats to speech, while celebrating art, literature, and truth-telling.
Amber Ruffin Hosts PEN Gala, Sarah Jessica Parker Honored
Deep Look
PEN America’s annual gala returned Thursday night in a glittering, defiant celebration of free speech, banned books, and creative resistance. Held at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, the event brought together literary luminaries, activists, and entertainers amid renewed attacks on writers, libraries, and dissenting voices.
Amber Ruffin, the comedian and writer originally slated to host the White House Correspondents Dinner before her invitation was rescinded, took center stage — and took no prisoners.
“I’m officially a banned book,” Ruffin quipped. “They booked me and then they banned me.” The crowd erupted in laughter.
Her hosting role came after the White House Correspondents Association dropped her amid pressure to remain politically neutral — a move many saw as capitulating to Trump’s second-term White House. PEN swiftly invited her to helm their gala instead.
“Thank you to PEN America for Googling me at least once before asking me to host,” Ruffin joked, jabbing the WHCA. She also didn’t hold back on Trump, calling him “gross,” “incompetent,” “racist,” and “sexually deviant.”
Honoring Voices That Challenge Power
One of the night’s most emotional moments came when Sarah Jessica Parker accepted the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award. A lifelong advocate for reading and founder of SJP Lit, Parker has become a prominent voice against censorship and book bans. At Sundance this year, she premiered The Librarians, a documentary about the war on libraries.
“To censor a book is to limit imagination, curiosity, connection, empathy and inspiration,” she said in her speech. “Libraries aren’t just buildings — they’re sanctuaries of possibility.”
Award for an Imprisoned Poet
Egyptian poet Galal El-Behairy, imprisoned since 2018 for “spreading false news” and “terrorism,” was honored with the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. His father and sister accepted on his behalf, noting he had “paid the price for his opposition with the best years of his life wasted in prison.”
Their appearance drew a standing ovation and was a poignant reminder of the real stakes for dissident artists.
Defying Authoritarianism at Home and Abroad
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, though not an official honoree, received roaring applause. In February, she confronted Trump over his transgender athlete ban, sued when he retaliated by cutting child nutrition funds — and won.
Meanwhile, Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth, a leading voice against Trump’s threats to universities, received the PEN/Benenson Courage Award. Roth used his speech to issue a broader warning: “We must draw on love and support if we are to resist the slide toward authoritarianism.”
Publishing Power Recognized
Macmillan CEO Jon Yaged received the Business Visionary Award, presented with charm and wit by actor Taye Diggs. Diggs joked, “I like Jon because he didn’t publish my children’s books just because I’m devastatingly handsome.”
Yaged was honored for advancing literary freedom in the corporate publishing space, where increasing political pressure and cultural backlash have made that mission more complex.
PEN’s Turbulent Year
This year’s gala came as PEN America works to regain its footing following a tumultuous 2024. The organization was criticized for its hesitant response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, prompting mass withdrawals from its spring awards and World Voices Festival — both of which were canceled.
CEO Suzanne Nossel stepped down in the aftermath, and no permanent successor has yet been named.
While both the awards and the World Voices Festival returned this year, controversy lingers. Two finalists withdrew from the $75,000 Jean Stein Book Award, prompting Stein’s daughters to donate the funds to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Palestine Legal, a U.S.-based rights group.
Despite the tension, Thursday’s gala reaffirmed PEN’s core mission: championing freedom of expression across all borders and ideologies, even in times of internal and external conflict.
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