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PEN Canada’s 2025 Ken Filkow Prize has been awarded to the journalist and broadcaster Samira Mohyeddin. The prize recognizes an individual or group whose work has advanced freedom of expression in Canada.

The jury citation describes Mohyeddin as: “a leading voice in Canada calling for the recognition of the fundamental rights of Palestinians while also condemning long-standing violations of Palestinian rights by the government of Israel.” It notes that she has “faced threats outside work, [including] an attack on a family business, and death threats as a direct result of her journalism.”

In 2023 Mohyeddin left CBC radio to create ON THE LINE MEDIA, which the jury praised for “challenging the consciences of Canadians about subjects that demand attention. Topics include the rights of LGBTQS+, Black Lives Matter, and Indigenous rights among others.” The citation recognizes Mohyeddin’s “long, lonely, and above all costly struggle … against those who would silence these and other voices” as the basis for their unanimous selection of Mohyeddin as the recipient of this year’s Ken Filkow Prize.

“Samira Mohyeddin’s work is typified by fearlessness, integrity, and a willingness to speak out directly against injustice, wherever she finds it,” said PEN Canada president, Ira Wells. “Her boldness and ingenuity have helped to illuminate our world, and embody the very essence of the Ken Filkow prize.”

Introduced in 2014, the Ken Filkow Prize is given annually in memory of Kenneth A. Filkow, Q.C., a distinguished Winnipeg lawyer, former chair of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, and a member of PEN Canada’s Canadian Issues Committee. The prize is adjudicated by an independent panel of journalists and writers that reviews nominations submitted by the public.

Mohyeddin will be formally awarded the prize on Friday, November 28, 2025 at the annual PEN Canada Awards Night in Toronto.

About PEN Canada

PEN Canada is a nonpartisan organization that celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression, and assists writers in peril at home and abroad. Based in Toronto, the English-language Canadian centre was founded in 1983 and is proud to be one of over 140 centres of PEN International.