Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano wins courage award
By Gadiola Emanuel - 12:11:00 AM
Roberto Saviano's book Gomorrah was made into an Oscar-nominated film
An
Italian author who has been in hiding since writing an expose about the
Naples mafia has won the Pen/Pinter International writer of courage
award.
Roberto Saviano's 2006 book Gomorrah explores the vast reach and corruption of the Camorra.
Mr Saviano, 32, has lived under constant police protection since death threats were issued against him by the mafia in 2006.
He is sharing the prize with British playwright Sir David Hare.
The Pen/Pinter Prize was established by the writers' charity Pen in 2009 in memory of British playwright Harold Pinter.
Each year a British writer receives the award alongside
another writer who has been persecuted for expressing his or her
beliefs. The identity of the "writer of courage" is announced at the
ceremony.
"Roberto Saviano took on the Neapolitan mafia, first in the
novel Gomorrah and then in the film made from it," Sir David, 64, said
at the awards ceremony in London on Monday.
Sir David was awarded the Pen/Pinter Prize in August and shares it with Mr Saviano
"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."
Mr Saviano, now living under 24-hour police protection, sent a message 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," he said in a statement released by organisers.
Sir David's notable works include Plenty, a portrait of
disillusionment in post-war Britain, and The Absence of War, a drama
about the British Labour Party.
by BBC NEWS
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