Solmaz Sharif Wins 2017 PEN Center Literary Award for Poetry

PEN Center's 27th Annual Literary Awards Festival Winners have been announced; and winning for Poetry is Solmaz Sharif, who will receive the honor for her collection Look (Graywolf) at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Friday, October 27. Margaret Atwood will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award. Other winners in the genres of fiction, journalism, creative nonfiction, young adult, research nonfiction, translation, and drama can be found here.

Another award will be handed out by comedian Chelsea Handler. Entertainment Weekly reports:

Handler, who currently hosts the Netflix talk show Chelsea, will present the Freedom to Write Award to New York Times journalists Emily Steel and Michael Schmidt. The pair exposed a series of settlements related to sexual harassment allegations against former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, reporting that eventually led to the anchor’s surprising exit from the network. Handler has frequently skewered O’Reilly and Fox News, and was particularly vocal when the harassment allegations came to light.

Should be an interesting night! Congratulations to Solmaz Sharif!