Roberto Saviano, the author of "Gomorrah", has been awarded the PEN/Pinter International Writer of Courage Award at the third annual PEN's Harold Pinter Prize with Sir David Hare. PEN/Pinter Prize is the annual literary award launched in 2009 by English PEN to commemorate the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter. The award is shared by a British writer and an international winner. The Roberto Saviano's 2006 book Gomorrah exposes the vast reach and corruption of the Camorra.
During the award ceremony at the British Library on Monday night, Roberto Saviano is unable to attend since he has been living under 24-hour police protection for the past two years. He wrote the book “Gomorrah” which opens up about shady business practices of the Camorra, the organized crime group that operates in his home region around Naples. The groundbreaking crime book Gomorra earns him an award for the Oscar-nominated movie “Page Eight” based on the content as well as death threat from the mafias of Italy.
The Italian mafia writer Saviano was awarded the PEN/Pinter International Writer of Courage Award at the third annual PEN's Harold Pinter Prize
From a hidden place, Italian mafia writer Saviano gave out a message to the event expressing his gratitude, “When you feel that so many need to see, to know and to change, and not just to be entertained or comforted, then it is worth it to carry on writing”.
Gomorrah, which exposes the Camorra corruption, has been translated into 53 languages and sold 2.5 million copies in Italy alone and a further four milliona around the world
The 32-year-old investigative journalist Roberto Saviano has no regular home and lives under 24-hour police protection due to repeated threats by the Camorra
Sir David, 64, said at the awards ceremony in London on Monday that “Roberto Saviano took on the Neapolitan mafia, first in the novel Gomorrah and then in the film made from it”. He also talked about Roberto Saviano and Gomorrah, “He did so at great risk to his own safety. My hope in sharing my prize with him is that a measure of recognition from Pen may, in however small a way, make his life easier”.
The 2006 book Gomorrah spawned a film named “Page Eight” which won acclaim at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and at the 2008 European Film Awards
Italian writer Roberto Saviano was seen in Rome in 2010
Roberto Saviano could not come and receive his PEN/Pinter International Writer of Courage Award at the British Library on Monday night for safety reason
Roberto Saviano is seen at Lope de Vega theater for the presentation of the film "Gomorra" on November 7, 2008 in Seville, Spain
Roberto Saviano Talks About Camorra
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Roberto Saviano: Gomorrah’s Author Wins Pen/ Pinter Prize