Film producer Jason Blum and author-bookseller Ann Patchett will be honored with PEN America awards

NEW YORK Jason Blum, the Oscar-nominated producer behind Blumhouse Productions, is receiving recognition from the literary community. PEN America will present him with the Business Visionary Award at its fundraising gala next spring. At the same event, author and bookseller Ann Patchett will receive the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award. The gala is set for May 14 at the American Museum of Natural History.

Blum, 56, whose work includes films such as BlacKkKlansman, Whiplash, Get Out, and popular horror franchises like Paranormal Activity and Halloween, has been praised for transforming horror into a major cultural force. PEN highlighted his ability to create films that are both daring and socially relevant.

Blum said, Horror is so much bigger and broader than people think, and expressed pride in expanding the genres audience. He also addressed book bans, noting, The freedom to tell horror stories is vital to what we do every day at Blumhouse, so Im grateful to PEN America for recognizing that. He referenced a recent report noting Stephen King as the most banned author in U.S. schools, calling book censorship scarier than our movies.

The Business Visionary Award honors those whose contributions have reshaped literature and storytelling. Previous winners include Bob Iger, Almar Latour, and Jon Yaged.

Ann Patchett, who turned 62, is celebrated for novels including Bel Canto, Commonwealth, and The Dutch House. The PEN/Audible Literary Service Award recognizes writers or advocates who have made significant contributions to the literary community. Patchett, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a PEN/Faulkner Award winner, co-founded Parnassus Books in Nashville in 2011, helping preserve a local literary hub after the closure of other bookstores.

Reflecting on her experience, Patchett said the bookstore shifted her focus outward: I always used to think of myself as someone who should just be in a room, alone, writing books. But the bookstore really challenged that and changed me from a person who titled inwards to a person who titled outwards. She added with a laugh that bookselling just gets me out of the house.

PEN interim Co-CEO Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf praised Patchetts work, saying her fiction distills the essence of the human condition with humor and heart, and noted that Parnassus has evolved into a refuge for readers and writers. Past recipients of the literary service award include Toni Morrison, Lorne Michaels, and Bob Woodward.

Author: Sophia Brooks