Nigerian authors protest as Charlie Hebdo nabs award

Nigerian authors, Teju Cole and Taiye Selasi have protested the awarding of Charlie Hebdo with the PEN award.

Charlie Hebdo yesterday received the freedom of speech award at the PEN Literary Gala in New York but the authors alongside 4 other authors boycotted the event saying PEN, which is known for defending imprisoned writers, was stepping beyond its traditional role.

According to the authors, PEN's role was to protect freedom of expression against government oppression, but the Charlie Hebdo award went against this, rather endorsing what the authors deemed to be a cultural intolerance of the organisation.

Other authors who boycotted the event include Michael Ondaatje, Peter Carey, Rachel Kushner and Francine Prose.

Teju Cole is a 2012 PEN award winner while Taiye Selasi who is part Ghanaian is the author of Ghana Must Go.

Also, over 100 other writers signed a letter of protest against the award.