Gaza playwright Ali Abu Yasin wins English PEN award
Ali Abu Yasin, a 62-year-old playwright from Gaza, was named Writer of Courage 2026 by English PEN on Thursday in London.
Award ceremony in London
Ali Abu Yasin, a 62-year-old playwright from Gaza, was named Writer of Courage 2026 by English PEN on Thursday in London. The award, presented at the British Library, recognises authors who defend freedom of expression under risk.
Context of conflict
Since the war began in October 2023, Israel has killed more than 74,000 people in Gaza. Abu Yasin has lived through several displacements, lost family members, and continued to write plays and screenplays while the Strip was bombed. He has described rehearsals for his play 50 Minutes taking place in a makeshift tent in a car park, with actors who had no prior theatre experience.
Personal resilience
Abu Yasin began writing in the al-Shati refugee camp and later worked with the Said Al-Mishal Theatre, which was destroyed in a 2018 Israeli bombing. He has said that the war lives in him and that he writes to document what is happening so the world can hear his voice before he dies. The award ceremony coincided with his recent trip to France, where he had been supported by an artist residency programme.
Source & attribution
This report is based on www.aljazeera.com's original reporting published 8 Oct 2026. Claims attributed to officials or parties to a conflict have not been independently verified by TotalWar.live.
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