PEN–Inge Feltrinelli shortlist puts writing as resistance in focus
The 13 October announcement brings together eight writers and a collective Eritrean nomination; the award will be presented at BookCity Milano.
When writing means defending the very possibility of being heard, a prize also becomes a space for attention. PEN International and Fondazione Feltrinelli announced the PEN–Inge Feltrinelli Writing as Resistance Award shortlist on 13 October, recognising literature that confronts repression and silencing.
The finalists include Gioconda Belli, Andrey Kurkov and Leila Guerriero, alongside voices working across exile, language protection and collective memory. Eight individual nominations are joined by a group nomination for four Eritrean writers detained since 2001. The official announcement places the winner’s announcement in November 2026 during BookCity Milano. Rather than simply mapping literary celebrity, the selection connects different experiences: preserving a culture, telling the stories of marginalised people and keeping space open for words.