Sudanese writer Stella Gaitano has been named the 2025 Writer of Courage by Leila Aboulela, winner of the PEN Pinter Prize 2025, in a ceremony held at the British Library on 10 October.
The Writer of Courage award, presented in collaboration with English PEN, honors an author who demonstrates exceptional bravery in defending freedom of expression, often at personal risk.
Leila Aboulela, winner of the 2025 PEN Pinter Prize, said,
“It is an honour and a pleasure to share my prize with Stella Gaitano, a writer I have admired and read avidly over the years. Stella is a principled writer and a fearless activist, who has endured hate speech and physical threats. Reading her work has opened my eyes to the injustices and consequences of war in Sudan. She is a wonderful, enriching writer who has already broken new ground in African literature.”
Upon being named co-winner, Stella Gaitano said,
“I am honoured that Leila Aboulela has chosen to share this award with me. It might seem like happy news, but when I think about how I might not have been here to witness it, it brings tears to my eyes. This is not only an award for courage, but also one for survival. I dedicate it to the brave Sudanese and South Sudanese writers who continue to write during wartime, in the absence of freedom of expression. I dedicate it to all the persecuted writers of the world whose words have led them to prison, exile, or death. Telling the truth can risk such threats. But it can also shake the authority that refuses to accept it, grant light and freedom, and promise a better tomorrow. An act with such power is worth the risk.”
Stella Gaitano is a South Sudanese writer, journalist, and human rights advocate. A trained pharmacist, she was awarded a fellowship from the PEN Germany Writers-in-Exile programme in 2022 and relocated to Germany. She has published two short story collections and the novels Edo’s Souls and Ireme. Edo’s Souls received a PEN Translates grant in 2020 — becoming the first novel from South Sudan to be published in the UK.
In September 2025, Gaitano was among the winning translators in the inaugural round of PEN Presents x International Booker Prize, a grant programme supporting translators from the Global Majority, for her translation from Arabic of Ireme.
Congratulations, Stella Gaitano!
Sarah Adeyemo
Sarah Adeyemo, Swan IX, is a Nigerian poet, writer, editor, spoken word artiste and communication expert. The debut author of “The Shape of Silence”. She draws inspiration from solitude and experiences. She is a fellow of the SprinNG Writing Fellowship. Her works appeared or are forthcoming in Akpata Magazine, The Shallow Tales Review, The Muse Journal, The Weganda Review, Everscribe Magazine, Afrillhill Press, Poems For Persons Interest, TV-63 Magazine, Northern Writers Forum Journal, Eboquills, Rinna Lit. Anthologies, and elsewhere. She tweets @SarahInkspires.
