Sudanese-Scottish Author Leila Aboulela Wins 2025 PEN Pinter Prize

Leila Aboulela, a Sudanese-Scottish writer, has been named the winner of the 2025 PEN Pinter Prize. The award was announced in London on July 10, 2025, by English PEN, in recognition of her powerful writing that explores faith, migration, and the lives of Muslim women. She will receive the award in a ceremony in October.

A Big Honour for Leila Aboulela

The PEN Pinter Prize is given to writers whose work shows truth, courage, and a deep understanding of society. Leila Aboulela was chosen for her honest and brave storytelling. She is known for novels like The Translator (1999), Minaret (2005), and River Spirit (2023). Her writing focuses on themes like faith, migration, and the inner lives of Muslim women.

The announcement was made during English PEN’s summer party in London. Actors Khalid Abdalla and Amira Ghazalla read from her books at the event. Aboulela said she was “surprised” and felt proud as a Muslim Sudanese immigrant writing about religion and culture.

Her Background and Work

Leila Aboulela was born in Cairo and raised in Khartoum, Sudan. She moved to Scotland in 1990 and now lives in Aberdeen. Her work has been translated into 15 languages and is studied in many universities.

She was the first winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing and has also won the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award and the Scottish Book Awards. She is an Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

What’s Next for the Prize

Leila Aboulela will formally receive the award on October 10, 2025, at the British Library. On the same day, she will name a Writer of Courage—a person who has faced danger or punishment for standing up for free speech. This part of the prize is shared between the winner and someone who has defended freedom of expression.

In the past, this title was given to people like Alaa Abd el-Fattah from Egypt and Rahile Dawut, a Uyghur scholar jailed in China.

What is the PEN Pinter Prize?

The PEN Pinter Prize is named after Harold Pinter, a famous British writer and Nobel Prize winner. It has been given every year since 2009 to authors who speak truth to power. Past winners include Arundhati Roy (2024), Salman Rushdie (2014), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2018).

The prize celebrates writing that is bold, honest, and thoughtful—just like Aboulela’s stories.