BookExpo will honor PEN America with its seventh annual Industry Ambassador Award on June 1. The Industry Ambassador Award recognizes, according to a release, "major innovators and creative leaders in the field that make the book industry better for all constituents." Past recipients include the Children’s Book Council, John Ingram, and James Patterson.
"The industry’s readiness to stand as a force for open dialogue and the free exchange of ideas is vital," PEN America executive director Suzanne Nossel said in a statement. "PEN America is proud to be honored by our colleagues and friends at this critical moment in the fight to defend free expression."
Nossel will accept the award at the Javits Center on Thursday during "The First Amendment Resistance," a panel hosted by PEN America that will focus on the role of the publishing industry in upholding free speech and giving a platform to controversial writers and views.
"As an organization committed to the defense of free expression, PEN America is a particularly timely and deserving honoree for this year’s Industry Ambassador Award," BookExpo event director Brien McDonald said in a statement. “PEN America has built on its nearly 100-year history of supporting imperiled writers worldwide to position itself as a vital thought leader, uncompromising advocate, and fearless defender in the face of new assaults on creative freedom and the freedom to write."
