The PEN America World Voices Festival is the premier celebration of writing from the United States and around the world.
Schedule of Events:
6:00 PM – 7:15 PM: Dreaming Out Loud at LA MAMA Shares
From Venezuela to Albania, Nigeria to Bangladesh, Costa Rica to Slovakia, and beyond, our DREAMers will share stories of journeys toward hope, healing, and joy from around the world. They come together as students from DREAMing Out Loud, PEN America’s series of tuition-free writing workshops for emerging migrant writers in the U.S., founded by the award-winning Mexican novelist Álvaro Enrigue in 2016. Join us to celebrate our newest generation of DREAMers as they give voice to new writing inspired by this extraordinary year. DREAMing Out Loud is supported by Karen Pritzker, RJ Julia Booksellers, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, New York Theater Workshop, National Queer Theater, and Drama Book Shop.
Buy Tickets
6:00 PM – 7:15 PM: Across the Caribbean at Church of the Village
The literature of the Caribbean is as expansive and diverse as the hundreds of islands that make up the region, and it continues to evolve and grow as more groundbreaking Caribbean voices are recognized worldwide. What are the connections—and distinctions—between the worlds of Jamaican writers Safiya Sinclair (How to Say Babylon) and Marlon James (Moon Witch Spider King) and Dutch-Surinamese author Astrid Roemer (On A Woman’s Madness)? What elements of geography, culture, language, and history distinguish their works, and what brings them into conversation and constellation? Join us for an in-depth look at and celebration of the richness of Caribbean literature today, moderated by PEN America’s Chief Program Officer, Literary Programs, Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf.
Buy Tickets
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM: Why Civic Culture Matters at The Center
Civic culture defines what’s possible in a democracy. The norms and values that shape the way we live together precede the structural changes made to policies and legislation. How can we normalize habits of debate, dissent, and the free exchange of ideas? How do we address current narratives and create a new story of us? To address these questions, in light of the upcoming elections, panelists Eunice Lin Nichols, Jose Antonio Vargas, Shanta Thake, and moderator Eric Liu will discuss civic culture and its importance to a democratic society.
Buy Tickets
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM: Translating Together: Connecting Russian and English Cultures at Deutsches Haus at NYU
In the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine and crackdowns on free expression––in Russia, the United States, and around the world––language has become a victim. As words’ meanings are contorted and hollowed, poetry and translation—and their precise consideration of the words’ importance—are needed more than ever. That was the principle underlying PEN/Penn’s “Your Language My Ear” program, a two-year translation project that brought together poets and translators of contemporary Russian and American poetry. A panel consisting of poets, translators, literary scholars and experts, including Polina Barskova, Lev Oborin and Ivan Sokolov, will present the project and discuss the importance of translation in times of increasing divide and uncertainty.
Buy Tickets
6:30 PM – 7:45 PM: Disappearing Acts: Censoring American Theater at Joe’s Pub
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage moderates a galvanizing and thought-provoking panel discussion on attempts to censor plays in America today. Celebrated playwrights Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home), Moisés Kaufman (One Arm), Carlyle Brown (Down in Mississippi), and John Weidman (Assassins) join Nottage to shed light on the battle between artistic expression and repressive government bodies in the realm of theater.
Buy Tickets
7:00 PM – 8:15 PM: This Strange Eventful History: Claire Messud with Amitava Kumar at Strand Book Store – Rare Books Room
This exclusive, pre-publication event celebrates the launch of one of 2024’s most anticipated books: award-winning author Claire Messud’s This Strange Eventful History. The Emperor’s Children author’s latest novel_ _traverses seven decades following a family through World War II, Algerian independence, and their future without a homeland. Inspired in part by stories from her own family’s history, Claire Messud juxtaposes her characters’ intimate lives with the social and political upheavals of the time. Messud will be in conversation with acclaimed novelist Amitava Kumar (My Beloved Life).
Buy Tickets
7:00 PM – 8:15 PM: Another Country: Literature’s Many Americas at AIA Center for Architecture – Tafel Hall
Throughout America’s history, novels have considerably influenced perceptions of this vast and diverse country. Two recent novels offer illuminating literary visions of a nation that can be hard to see through all its contradictions and disconnects. James McBride’s depiction of a multi-racial Pennsylvania town and its secrets, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, is an “astute, withering, giddy, damning and jubilant… all-American mix of prejudice and hope” that “crowds the chaos of the world into [its] sentences” (NPR). Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s “nuanced yet explosive” novel_ Digging Stars_ explores “the intersection of science, identity, and grief” (The New York Times) in the tale of a Zimbabwean student adrift in the Midwest. The authors join in a conversation on writing America for PEN World Voices.
Buy Tickets
8:00 PM – 9:15 PM: Dreaming on Stage at LA MAMA Shares
From different corners of the world, a group of writers have gathered to write epic plays about everything they know and everything they believe in. They have queered your sacred texts, reimagined folklore, excavated ghosts, and made absolute magic. Come sit with us and watch these emerging writers birth new plays and new forms. DREAMing Out Loud is supported by Karen Pritzker, RJ Julia Booksellers, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, New York Theater Workshop, National Queer Theater, and Drama Book Shop.
Buy Tickets
8:00 PM – 9:15 PM: Literary Community & Mentorship at Church of the Village
Success as a writer is often dependent on strong support systems—which can be a challenge to cultivate given the inherent solitude of the profession. How can authors reach out across their individual practices to build community and bolster emerging voices? This panel brings together three powerhouse writers who have forged significant creative communities: by starting their own imprints, growing networks beyond traditional publishing centers, and uplifting the work of younger writers. Min Jin Lee (Pachinko), Leigh Newman (Nobody Gets Out Alive), and Roxane Gay (Opinions) will join moderator Matt Ortile (The Groom Will Keep His Name) to discuss the practices, joys, and necessities of mentorship and literary citizenship.
Buy Tickets
9:00 PM – 10:15 PM: Delayed Starts: Adults Coming-of-Age at Joe’s Pub
“Coming-of-age”—both the expression and the literary genre— traditionally refers to the transition from adolescence to adulthood. However, in recent years—as material struggles have altered the timelines of younger generations’ lives—narratives of personal development have applied the genre to later stages in life. Whether stalled by economic hardship, higher education, or life-altering traumas, characters attempt to move toward hopes of attaining prominence, respectability, or maturity. Featuring New York Times bestselling author Jessica Knoll (Bright Young Women), Vinson Cunningham (Great Expectations), and New Yorker critic and moderator Alexandra Schwartz, the conversation will address what “coming-of-age” means in today’s literature.
Buy Tickets
