JEREMY MOGFORD NAMED A CENTENARY PATRON BY PEN INTERNATIONAL

In 2022, the Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing will celebrate 10 years of its short story prize. Over the past decade, we’ve seen 9 incredible authors win thousands of pounds in prize money and been delighted to showcase their food and drink-themed tales to the world.

To celebrate this important anniversary, in 2021 prize-founder Jeremy Mogford and The Oxford Collection pledged £10,000 of support to the brilliant PEN International. A Non-Governmental Organisation based in London, PEN International supports 140+ autonomous PEN centres across the globe. Each centre is dedicated to promoting all forms of the written word, emphasising the role of literature in developing mutual understanding and acting as a powerful voice on behalf of persecuted writers worldwide.

THE PEN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Founded in 1921, PEN International was established to promote intellectual cooperation and friendship among writers throughout the world. Some of its first members included writers such as H.G. Wells, Joseph Conrad and Elizabeth Craig amongst many others.

Today, PEN Centres across the globe are actively engaged in promoting literature, and working on behalf of writers who are imprisoned or facing persecution and even death because of their writing.

PEN International and its centres are currently focusing on supporting writers through their International Day of the Imprisoned Writer campaign. Every year, PEN highlights five cases that are emblematic of the types of threats writers around the world are subjected to for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. PEN centres and members around the globe advocate for these writers, with activities ranging from letter-writing and panel discussions, to press conferences and publishing the work of imprisoned writers. You can read more about the case of one imprisoned writer, Selahattin Demirtaş, on the website change.org.       

THE IMPORTANCE OF LONG-TERM SUPPORT

The Mogford Prize, Jeremy and The Oxford Collection are proud to support the work of PEN through their donation and look forward to supporting the organisation’s mission going forward.

In recognition of their financial gift, PEN International has named Jeremy and The Oxford Collection as one of their Centenary Patrons, joining a roster of donors including Penguin Random House, Yann Martel and Margaret Atwood.

PEN Centenary Patrons are an exceptional group of individuals and companies who have come together to celebrate PEN’s 100th year. Through their financial support, their goal is to ensure that PEN’s global impact and vital programmes supporting persecuted writers are safeguarded from increasing threats.

If you’re interested in supporting the work of PEN, you can consider joining one of the organisation’s Giving Circles or becoming a Friend of PEN.

A DECADE OF SUPPORT FOR THE ARTS

The new relationship between the Mogford Prize and PEN International carries on a tradition of Jeremy Mogford’s support for the arts.

In 2013, Jeremy founded the Mogford Prize wishing to celebrate his links with literary Oxford. Having enjoyed a lifetime of success in the hospitality industry, Jeremy decided his competition would relate specifically to food and/or drink. Since then, the prize has championed more than 200 longlisted authors and rewarded 9 winners with thousands of pounds in prize money, publication and a professional audio recording of their winning story.

 Want to know more about the Mogford Prize, Jeremy Mogford and The Oxford Collection? Visit our new website to learn about the history of the prize and browse through our previous winners.

Finally, don’t forget that the 10th Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing will close on January 12th 2022 at 12 noon GMT. Make sure to get those stories in on time to be in with a chance of winning the £10,000 prize.