Authors for Peace was founded in July 2010 by the British author Priya Basil, and the German journalist Matthias Fredrich-Auf der Horst.

It is intended to be a platform from which authors can actively use literature in different ways to promote peace.

The first Authors for Peace event was a global, live, online, 24-hour reading, done by 80 authors from around the world, on the UN's International Day of Peace 2010.