All is not well in the literary world.

That could be true at any moment of any day, sure, but this week has been especially tumultuous. Maybe that’s not accurate, either, because the letter that’s causing headlines (like this one!) was actually sent in March, though it’s only just now been made available to the public.

The letter in question was sent to the PEN American Center by more than 100 writers, including Junot Díaz, Eileen Myles, Molly Crabapple, Deborah Eisenberg, and Geoff Dyer. The cause? PEN’s decision to allow the Israeli government to sponsor its upcoming PEN World Voices Festival.e Hebdo with its Freedom of Expression Courage Award.