(NEW YORK)—PEN America announced today that Iranian writers Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi will receive the 2026 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award. The announcement comes amid a deepening crisis for free expression in Iran where writers face both the long-standing repression of their own government and the immediate and life-threatening consequences of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
“It is essential we keep drawing attention to writers like Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and Ali Asadollahi, who between them represent both the recent, escalating crackdown on dissent in Iran, and the long-standing persecution of writers and civil society that has been a hallmark of the country’s repressive regime for decades,” said Summer Lopez, co-CEO of PEN America. “These writers embody the courage and creativity it takes to express their viewpoints openly in the face of unrelenting persecution.”
Iraee and Asadollahi will be honored at PEN America’s 2026 Literary Gala, on May 14 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, underwritten by Peter and Pamela Barbey and the Edwin Barbey Charitable Trust and conferred annually, recognizes writers who are in jail at the time the recipients are selected, and who have been targeted for their expression. Of the 55 jailed writers who have received the award since 1987, 46 are currently released in part due to the international attention and pressure the award generates.
Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee
Writer, poet, and human rights defender Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee has faced more than a decade of harassment, detention, and repeated imprisonment for her writing and activism on a range of human rights themes. First arrested in 2014, she has since endured a cycle of release and re-arrest.
“We are proud to be honoring Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee—an extraordinary woman who fearlessly stands up for what is right, regardless of the risk to her own safety. Her persistent commitment to writing and activism in the face of multiple arrests truly embodies the principles behind this award, which honors those who serve as voices of conscience and work to uphold free expression and human rights,” said Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, co-CEO of PEN America.
During her most recent sentencing, in April 2023, following her arrest during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, she received a prison term of seven years, which was reduced to five years on appeal in July. She remains jailed in Evin prison.
Ali Asadollahi
Writer, poet, and translator Ali Asadollahi was caught up in Iran’s crackdown on writers, which worsened after the June 2025 military conflict between Iran and Israel. It dramatically escalated again following the countrywide demonstrations that began in late December 2025, peaking in a near-total communications blackout and violent crackdown by security forces on the nights of January 8-9, 2026 that led to the deaths of thousands of protestors and the detention of an estimated 50,000.
He was violently arrested at his home in January 2026 and denied access to a lawyer. During his detention Asadollahi faced multiple lengthy interrogations, was subjected to physical abuse and pressured to make a forced confession before being released on bail in mid-March following mounting international pressure.
“Ali Asadollahi’s case shows us that the Iranian government remains hell bent on silencing dissenting voices, no matter the cost,” said Rosaz Shariyf. “It is essential that we do not become complacent after his release. He is a remarkable and creative voice in the Iranian literary scene and is still at great risk due to the Iranian regime’s track record of re-arresting writers who refuse to be silenced.”
Asadollahi is an internationally acclaimed poet and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association (IWA). He has published six poetry collections and has most recently been recognized by Lunch Ticket with the Gabo Prize. He, too, was previously arrested in November 2022 in the midst of the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising and held for several months.
Threats Facing Iranian Writers
Iran has long been one of the world’s most restrictive countries for freedom of expression. In PEN America’s 2024 Freedom to Write Index, which counts writers jailed around the world for their writing or exercise of free expression, Iran ranked in second place globally, jailing a total of 43 writers during the year. The upcoming Index for 2025 is expected to show a marked increase in this number.
The U.S. and Israeli war with Iran has sharply intensified concerns about the safety of imprisoned writers and other political prisoners, who are facing dire prison conditions, restrictions on contact with families and lawyers, and denial of medical care. Amidst these ongoing risks and threats by President Trump on April 6 that Iranian civilization “will die,” the need to protect Iran’s writers and preserve the cultural life they help sustain has never been more urgent.
“Being a writer in Iran, already a life of constant threat and repression, has become even more perilous amid war,” said Lopez. “Jailed writers face severe human rights violations at the hands of their own government and, at the same time, their lives are at risk from U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.”
PEN America calls on the Iranian government to immediately release all unjustly jailed writers and on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligation to protect civilian lives and infrastructure, including cultural heritage.
About the Award
The PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, which kicks off an ongoing campaign to free its recipients, is a powerful tool in PEN America’s ongoing efforts to advocate on behalf of jailed writers around the world. Previous honorees from Iran include Narges Mohammadi (2023); Baktash Abtin, Keyvan Bajan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, a trio representing the Iranian Writers’ Association (2021); and Nasrin Sotoudeh (2011). Both Mohammadi and Sotoudeh have been rearrested in recent months as Iranian authorities crack down on prominent voices of conscience.
PEN America’s Literary Gala brings together leading writers, journalists, publishers, and cultural figures to raise funds supporting the organization’s mission to defend free expression and protect writers at risk. The event honors luminaries whose work exemplifies creative and civic courage. Other honorees include Ann Patchett, who will receive the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, and Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse, who will be honored with the Business Visionary award. David Remnick and Kwame Anthony Appiah are chairing the event, and more than 50 writers, including Rana Ayyub, Azar Nafisi, Lynn Nottage, and Laura Secor, will serve as literary hosts at each table.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.