【Mere Sapno Ki Rani (2023) Hindi Web Series】

Source：Fresh Information Network Editor：Entertainment Time：2025-06-27 08:34:08

The Mere Sapno Ki Rani (2023) Hindi Web Seriesbook world came together to celebrate groundbreaking new literature on Tuesday night at the 2018 PEN America Literary Awards.

The ceremony, hosted annually by PEN America, honors authors who have made significant contributions to the literary world and celebrates books published in fiction and a wide array of non-fiction, including sports writing, science writing, essays, and more.

SEE ALSO: 10 books by black authors that are shaping our conversation about race

As writers from all over the globe convened to discuss books, there was an orange-tinted elephant dominating the room: Donald Trump and the effect his presidency has had on free speech in America.

“It’s honestly a weird time to be protecting free expression," Sally Kohn — author of the upcoming book The Opposite of Hate, commentator, and host of last night's award ceremony — mused at the top of the show. "Free speech is so free we have fake speech now, right?"

Kohn's comments were largely played for humor. She also later poked fun of Ivanka.

"There are so many incredible, important authors who graced us with their ideas and words this year. I mean, brilliant, visionary, inspiring writers. Of course, I'm talking about Ivanka."

Kohn wasn't the only one to allude to Trump during the ceremony. Several authors had statements that responded directly to political news coming out of the White House.

While accepting her award for the PEN/Ralph Mannheim Medal for Translation, prolific translator Barbara Harshav spoke out, explaining, "The task of the translator today is something else. At a time when politicians are building walls, the task of the translator is to tear them down, to bring us together, to make being foreign not strange, so that we may all recognize our humanity through literature." The line was a notable jab at Donald Trump's proposed border wall.

Likewise, when Vice President and Editorial Director of Global Digital Content for ESPN, Patrick Steigman, came on stage to present the awards for sports writing, he noted, "Sports reflect change in American society, through our triumphs and our failure. Sports can be art, and ... throughout the history of the games we play, athletes have broken barriers in the arenas of race, religion, and politics."

"We're all keenly aware of the power words have to shape our world."

Jonathan Eig, who won the award for Literary Sports writing, echoed that sentiment in a written acceptance statement provided to PEN: "Some people, including the man in the White House, are not used to black athletes using their minds and using their muscle to push for change. Some people are still not used to Muslims as Americans. Some people are not used to the notion that protest is actually an act of patriotism."

The comments directly support Colin Kaepernick's NFL protests — and strike back at opinions like those of conservative Fox news host Laura Ingraham, who recently said that Lebron James should stop talking politics, and "shut up and dribble." LeBron later responded with a series of Instagram photos which he captioned: "I know my purpose and its damn sure bigger than just dribbling a basketball" and "#wewillnotshutupanddribble."

But ultimately, Kohn said, the PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony convened to honor great writing.

"We're all keenly aware of the power words have to shape our world," she said. "Words have power: The power for good or its opposite, the power for connection or its opposite, the power for kindness or its opposite. And tonight, we're going to honor words that change the world."

And world-changing words they were. At the ceremony, poet Layli Long Soldier won the esteemed PEN/Jean Stein Book Award (along with its $75,000), beating out Ta-Nehisi Coates and his collection We Were Eight Years in Power. In her speech, Soldier explained, "When I wrote WHEREAS, it was the moment to say that it’s okay for us to have boundaries, it’s okay to have respect, it’s okay to hear parts of the history you have not heard before."

Other notable winners included Jenny Zhang for her story collection Sour Heartand the late Ursula K. Le Guin for her essay collection No Time To Spare: Thinking About What Matters.

Check out the complete list of winners below.