NEW YORK (AP) β Neil Gaiman, Art Spiegelman and Alison Bechdel are among the writers who have agreed to step in as table hosts at next week’s PEN American Center gala after six authors withdrew in protest of an award being given to the French magazine Charlie Hebdo.
PEN tells The Associated Press the other new hosts are George Packer, Azar Mafisi and Alain Mabanckou, who will present the award to Hebdo.
The literary world has been in a civil war of words since PEN announced last week that Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose and four other table hosts pulled out from the May event. They cited what they say are the offensive cartoons of Muslims in Charlie Hebdo.
PEN is giving the magazine a freedom of expression award.
