Today the PEN American Center unveiled the schedule for the sixth annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature–a New York City-based festival with 150 writers from 40 countries. In the video above, you can see PEN American Center executive director Steven L. Isenberg introducing the festival at Instituto Cervantes this sunny afternoon.
For the first time, the event will also feature a traveling show, as World Voices Festival participants will head to events around the country, from San Francisco to Washington DC. Running from April 26 until May 2, the New York City festival will feature a Natalie Merchant, an adaptation panel featuring Barry Gifford and Richard Price performance, and an interview with filmaker and novelist Melvin Van Peebles.
The festival concludes with a Sherman Alexie lecture on “The artistic, political and economic responsibilities of writers in the digital age.” It should be an interesting speech, based on the outspoken novelist’s past comments on Amazon and the digital future.