(NEW YORK)—Today Netflix’s Ted Sarandos informed us that he will not be joining us in New York to accept the PEN America Business Visionary Award at our annual gala on May 18.
PEN America released the following statement:
“We admire Ted Sarandos’ singular work translating literature to artful presentation on screen, and his stalwart defense of free expression and satire. As a writers organization, we have been following recent events closely and understand his decision.Our Gala program, with honorees including Saturday Night Live‘s Lorne Michaels and emcee Colin Jost, will center on the escalating campaign of book bans in this country, tightening constraints on satire and comedy, and support of threatened writers worldwide. We look forward to a moving and inspiring event that will fuel our fervent work on behalf of free speech”.
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open 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. To learn more visit PEN.org
Contact: Geraldine Baum: [email protected], 646-784-2713