Suzanne Nossel, the CEO of PEN America, has announced plans to leave her position. This follows a year of intense criticism over her leadership of the “free speech organization,” which has refused to take a stand in the face of a genocide.
Nossel, a Harvard-trained lawyer, started at PEN in 2013. As the New York Times reported, she previously held posts in the US State Department, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International USA. Under her leadership, revenue grew and membership increased. But over the past year, staffers and writers have left PEN in droves as the org refused calls to protect endangered Palestinian writers and journalists—among other cultural responsibilities. The organization Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) has repeatedly called out PEN’s “sustained bias and one-sidedness.”
In February, the Palestinian writer Randa Jarrar was dragged out of a PEN event for protesting this stance. This led hundreds of writers to sign an open letter criticizing the leadership.
We’ve covered the escalating aftermath quite a bit. PEN’s annual festival and award celebrations were canceled, as writers continued to pressure the org. Authors refused to accept awards, or award consideration. This summer, WAWOG finally called for a full PEN boycott, citing “months of genocide apologia, craven handwringing, empty rhetoric, and refusal of accountability.”
Despite this hot climate, Nossel has landed on her feet. She’s accepting a position as the president and chief executive of Freedom House, a watchdog and advocacy organization “devoted to the support and defense of democracy around the world.”
In the meantime, PEN America has announced plans to elevate two current senior members of its leadership team, Summer Lopez and Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf. Lopez and Shariyf will serve as interim co-chief executives while a national search commences, though Nossel will stay on the assist the transition.
Yesterday, WAWOG issued a statement on Nossel’s departure via FKA Twitter, which reads, in part:
While we welcome the end of Nossel’s tenure, we will continue our work until PEN America lives up to its mission statement and steps up to meaningfully and materially support Palestinian writers.
You can find the rest of the statement here.
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