Gaza Writer Honored for Brave Writing During War

62-year-old Gaza playwright Ali Abu Yasin, from al-Shati refugee camp, has won English PEN's Writer of Courage 2026. It is a group that protects writers. Nominated by 2026 PEN Pinter prize winner Jacqueline Rose, he stopped writing plays after October 2023 to describe life under Israeli bombing, carrying hidden scripts while forced to flee. He says his house was bombed.