Join us for the PEN World Voices Festival!!
Schedule of Events:
10:00 am - 5:00 pm: ArtLords Public Mural
ArtLords, together with Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) and the vibrant community of New York City, will ignite the PEN World Voices Festival with an electrifying live mural creation event. This groundbreaking artistic endeavor is poised to magnify the transformative power of art in championing social change, advocating for freedom of expression, and fortifying cultural resilience.
The mural will be a canvas of solidarity, embodying the resilient spirit of artists who defy adversity to express their truth. It will intricately interlace narratives of struggle and victory from across the globe, paying homage to those navigating conflict zones or enduring oppressive censorship.
Join us for the painting of a vibrant testament to the indomitable spirit of artistic freedom and collective solidarity
12:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Indie Lit Fair
Join us for the ninth annual Indie Lit Fair, co-presented by the PEN World Voices Festival and the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP). This year, the Indie Lit Fair will take place south of Astor Place, on the sidewalk of Lafayette Street, between Astor Place and Joe's Pub. Free and open to the public, the Indie Lit Fair celebrates the vitality and diversity of independent literary publishing, showcasing new and established poetry presses, fiction and creative nonfiction publishers, and innovative literary magazines. Stop by to browse, buy, and bask in the breadth of the literary arts being published today.
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Erased: Media Erasure and Authoritarianism
In an age where truth is under attack, authoritarian regimes are employing a chilling tactic to silence opposition: erasing independent media. By controlling narratives, they dominate political discourse, shield themselves from accountability and erase the stories that threaten their hold on power.
Join us for an eye-opening discussion with New York Times journalist M. Gessen and Anna Nemzer, journalist, co-founder of the Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA), and human rights and democracy researcher and advocate Yaqiu Wang as they delve into the alarming rise of media erasure by authoritarian governments. Co-presented by the RIMA and the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center, this conversation will explore the devastating impact of censorship in the digital age, from the deletion of websites, controlling what can and can't be said on social media, and the destruction of historical records.
Gessen, Nemzer, and Wang will not only shed light on how these tactics work, but discuss the ways journalists and writers can push back against media erasure, protect free expression, and fight for the truth to not be silenced.
Don't miss this urgent conversation about the battle for truth and independent media in a world where information is power.
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm: Shifting Perspectives: From One World to Another
Divides shape our lives-across eras, borders, and political landscapes. But how do these shifts of time, place, and circumstance impact who we are?
Join authors, Daniel Kehlmann (The Director), amitava Kumar (My Beloved Life), and Reyna Grande (A Ballad of Love and Glory) for an exciting conversation with writer Sam Sussman. Together, they'll explore how changing political environments reflect the shifting nature of personhood. Following characters going from Hollywood's golden age to Nazi propaganda offices, from pre-independence India to a newly independent nation, and from 19th-century america to a Mexican battlefield - these stories span nations and generations, united by one question: How do the worlds around us shape our choices, identities and our lives?
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm: Vital Voices Reading
Vital Voices from Indie Lit Publishers, hosted by The Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP), presents readings from a diverse array of independently published authors. This year, Vital Voices will be presented at Astor Place. The event will feature fiction writers, poets, and translators.
2:30 pm - 3:45 pm: Writing Humor for Kids, Seriously
Funny books for kids can transport young readers to an amusing and entertaining universe, serving as a refuge from life's difficult moments, as well as easing the approach to serious subjects. A panel of four distinctive voices in contemporary children's literature-Cece Bell (El Deafo), Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watsons Go To Birmingham), and Eugene Yelchin (The Genius Under the Table)-will discuss the role of humor in their books. Their work explores, respectively, how challenges of deafness compound those of childhood; Black american lives in various historical eras; themes of love, hope and forgiveness in families; and growing up behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union. The panelists will delve into the ways that humor infuses their stories and the challenge of using humor with sensitivity. The panel will be moderated by Elizabeth Levy, longtime author of humorous fiction whose recent non-fiction historical books have been singled out for their unexpectedly funny qualities. Her most recent book, written with Andrea Batis, is Witch Hunt: The Cold War, Joe McCarthy, and the Red Scare.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Words for the Planet: Writers Confronting the Climate Crisis
Climate change is here and its impact is felt everywhere. From natural disasters to forced migration, the crisis is exacerbating inequities and reshaping our world. Authors, poets, and scientists are all responding to this crisis - exploring it on both a personal, collective, and global scale.
Join poet Marie Howe (New and Selected Poems), biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures), and Emily Raboteau (Lessons for Survival; Mothering Against the "Apocalypse"), for a cross-genre moderated conversation by James Tager. Together, they'll explore how their work responds to the climate crisis and how we can envision a sustainable future.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Mainstreaming Artivism with ArtLords
Join ArtLords for a conversation exploring how art can be a powerful tool for activism, resistance, and social change. From war zones to global stages, panelists will share stories of how artists are shaping public discourse, challenging power, and reimagining a more just world through creativity.
Founded in 2014 in the heart of Kabul, Afghanistan, ArtLords emerged as a grassroots movement of artists and volunteers, driven by the desire to harness the transformative power of art. Their story began with a bold vision: to use the blank walls of Kabul as canvases to paint messages of peace, hope, and social change.
3:00 pm - 4:15 pm: Writing as Resistance
In times of political upheaval, displacement and erasure, writing becomes a powerful tool of resistance. Join Uyghur poet and memoirist Tahir Izgil Hamut (Waiting to Be Arrested at Night), Iraqi american poet Dunya Mikhail (Tablets: Secrets of the Clay), and Palestinian american novelist Etaf Rum (Evil Eye) as they discuss how their writing challenges dominant political narratives and preserves stories of displacement, exile and perseverance.
In his memoir Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, Tahir Hamut Izgil documents the Chinese government's persecution of the Uyghur people and his time in a labor-camp. In Dunya Mikhail's poetry collection Tablets: Secrets of Clay, she explores the memories and legacies of her families' exile from Iraq while looking back at Iraqi history. In Etaf Rum's novel Evil Eye, a Palestinian-american woman must navigate the intergenerational trauma of her family's displacement from Palestine. Moderated by novelist Mojgan Ghazirad (The House on Sun Street), this panel will delve into the urgency of documenting personal and collective experiences and how the act of writing both engenders change and urges us towards a future of complex understanding.
3:30 pm - 4:45 pm: Mothers, Sons, and Daughters: The Complex Ties That Bind
Join Pulitzer Prize finalist Adam Haslett (Mothers and Sons) and internationally bestselling author Siri Hustvedt (Mothers, Fathers, and Others) for an insightful conversation on how literature grapples with the maternal bond. Haslett's novel explores the emotional distance between a mother and son, torn apart by their differing understandings of a death. Hustvedt's essay collection challenges the cultural expectations of motherhood, especially in a world shaped by misogyny.
Moderated by Rivka Galchen (Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch), this discussion will examine our understanding of mothering, both its expectations and tensions, offering fresh perspectives on motherhood-just in time for Mother's Day.
4:30 pm - 5:45 pm: Slices of american Life: With Aaliyah Bilal and Gina Chung
Join us for an intimate discussion with authors Gina Chung (Green Frog) and Aaliyah Bilal (Temple Folk) whose short story collections offer rich portraits of two vibrant american communities. In Green Frog, Chung explores Korean american womanhood in stories that weave in Korean folklore, science fiction and the fantastic. In Temple Folk, Bilal's stories chart the lives of people of the nation of Islam, as they navigate questions of race, faith, sexuality and politics.
In this dynamic discussion, moderated by writer Sarah Dillard, Chung and Bilal will explore the power of storytelling to reflect the lives and desires of their communities and the art of capturing the complexities of communities through fiction.
6:00 pm - 7:15 pm: Bold Voices: Latin american Writers in Conversation
A new wave of Latin american literature is rising, and it's led by women. Join Mexican novelist Guadalupe Nettel (The Accidentals), Argentinian novelist Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (The Girl From the Orange Grove) and Uruguayan author Fernanda Trias (Pink Slime) in a conversation moderated by writer and curator Lily Philpott exploring this moment in Latin american literature.
Bringing together Latin american women writers who are breaking new ground in their work, this conversation will explore how the women lead movements against restrictions on women's rights and rising gender violence in Latin america, environmental and political corruption, and the evolving nature of gender roles, finds echoes in these writers books, as they explore the lives of Latin american women, while pushing the boundaries of genre and aesthetics.
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm: Closing Night - Under Siege: The Perils of Journalism in an Age of State Repression
Around the world, journalists are facing unprecedented attacks as governments crack down on press freedoms. From outright censorship to threats and arrests, reporters are increasingly at risk for doing the vital work of informing the public.
Join Indian journalist Rana Ayyub of The Washington Post and George Packer of the Atlantic as they sit down with PEN america's interim Co-CEO and Chief Program Officer, Free Expression, Summer Lopez, for an urgent conversation about the escalating dangers journalists face when governments target the press. This discussion will explore how government repression not only silences and endangers the media, but also emboldens other dangerous actors who feel that they too have the license to threaten, harass and attack journalists with impunity.
