Gaza Playwright Ali Abu Yasin Honored as PEN Writer of Courage

War lives inside me. Those are the words Ali Abu Yasin used to describe his state after winning a major award in London on Thursday. The literary group English PEN named him Writer of Courage 2026. He stood there holding the honor while carrying the weight of three years of Israeli bombardment, forced displacement, and deep personal loss.

This prize means something far bigger than just one man. Abu Yasin told Al Jazeera it is a victory for Gaza, Palestine, and every Palestinian person suffering under siege. The 62-year-old playwright started his artistic journey as a teenager inside the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza. That place remains one of the largest camps in the Strip and has been targeted repeatedly by recent attacks.

"It's how I was born," he said regarding his drive to create. "I've wanted to express myself using art since my childhood."

When the war began in October 2023, everything changed. He stopped writing plays immediately. Instead, his pen turned toward documenting life under constant bombardment. For the first two years, his work focused on Palestinians fleeing and living in terror for their lives.

"There was no theatre," Abu Yasin explained, shaking his head with visible pain. "It was impossible to have a theatre because Gaza was being destroyed."

The numbers are staggering. Since 2023, Israel has killed more than 74,000 people in Gaza. The majority of survivors have been displaced multiple times. Abu Yasin now works with actors who rehearse their lines inside makeshift tents. They do this work against the sound of active gunfire.

"I was near death four, five times," he admitted. "I saw people around me die. We lived by chance, and those who died, died by chance."

His own son was trapped under rubble. His house was bombed. During that dark period, his only goal was safety. He tried to protect his family from famine while documenting events so the world could hear his voice before he passed away.

After a long break, he managed to write several screenplays. He hid them and carried them through every move of displacement. In 2004, he began working with the Said Al-Mishal Theatre in Gaza City. That hub for Palestinian culture was levelled by an Israeli bombing in 2018. Leading playwrights and theatre directors called that attack the obliteration of a symbol of Palestinian culture and identity in a letter to The Guardian newspaper.

In 2008, he started writing the Gaza Monologues. This series illustrated life in Gaza, capturing both moments of joy and deep pain. A few weeks ago, Abu Yasin left Gaza with support from an artist residency programme in France.

"I didn't actually leave the war," he said. "The war lives in me, Gaza lives in me."

He has learned to conserve small amounts of water and minimize waste. These are habits born from living through a humanitarian crisis. The award ceremony aligns perfectly with his trip to France, allowing him to attend largely by fortunate coincidence. For English PEN, the privilege of holding an in-person ceremony at the British Library is not taken for granted.

"For many years, writers living in Gaza have been among those with the most limited freedom of movement in the world," a spokesperson told Al Jazeera. "We recognise this and the direct impact it has on their freedom of expression."

Abu Yasin's recent play, 50 Minutes, was shown in Gaza recently. It tells the story of genocide and mourning. He remains determined to speak out.

Inside a car park tent built for nothing more than rehearsal space, actors who had never stepped on a stage before practiced their lines. Abu Yasin stands among them as the focal point of this story. He was nominated by Jacqueline Rose, a British academic and cultural critic who took home the 2026 PEN Pinter Prize. English PEN explains the honor simply. They say the Writer of Courage award goes to an author defending freedom of expression even when their own safety is at risk. The prize shares its spotlight with the main winner.

This branch of PEN International operates out of the United Kingdom. Their global mission champions free speech and literary advocacy worldwide. Yet tensions flared recently. PEN America, the US group, faced a boycott after accusations it failed to support Palestinian writers. That pressure led to the resignation of its president in 2025. English PEN moved independently from the American branch. They joined PEN International in calling for an arms embargo on Israel and condemning the killing of Palestinian writers.

Rose called his work something bigger than just a book or article. She described it as a call for justice, a cry of outrage, and a spiritual quest. Her words paint a clear picture of his role. He has been the consistent chronicler of the harshness and cruelty of Palestinian existence. He also serves as a mentor to young people struggling to pluck meaning from the debris of their lives. Rose first gained prominence with her 2005 book, The Question of Zion. It offered a psychoanalysis of Zionism that changed how many viewed the issue.

Abu Yasin has three children and sixteen grandchildren living in Gaza today. All are there except for his son, Amjad Abu Yasin. That son is an actor working in France now. When asked about his people's hopes, he spoke plainly. In Gaza, we have simple dreams. We want to live in peace and to live in freedom. We want the sky and the seas to be open. He did not ask for much more than that.