Plan Your Visit

GENERAL INFORMATION

We look forward to seeing you at the 2023 World Voices Festival! New York events are concentrated in Greenwich Village where the festival was launched 18 years ago. With a walkable festival hub, you can attend multiple events in a day, take a stroll through the park, and peruse books at the Indie Lit Fair.


Tickets and Registration

Buying Tickets

Most tickets may be purchased through Eventbrite. Visit https://pen.org/festival for all event details and ticket links, as some events will be ticketed by our venue partners. Once you have purchased your tickets, order confirmations will be sent electronically. If a confirmation email hasn’t appeared within an hour, check your spam/promotions folder.

Note: Eventbrite and select venues charge ticket buyers a service fee and a processing fee. Since these are electronic tickets, there will be no shipping or handling fees.

There are no physical or PDF tickets for these events. Simply arrive with your confirmation in the Eventbrite app, or provide the name on your registration when you arrive for entry.

Festival Pass

This year, we are excited to offer festival wide passes, which will allow the purchaser to attend any event they are interested in, all for one low price.

We have attempted to keep the process as simple as possible. Please see our step by step guide below:

  1. Purchase your festival pass for $75 + fees, via this link, using an email address you are able to access.
  2. After purchasing your festival pass, you will receive an email from our Box Office team providing you with your own unique code.
  3. You can then use your unique code on any individual event’s Eventbrite page, and you will unlock the ability to RSVP (for free) for any of our ticketed events, guaranteeing you a spot at any event you are interested in during the festival.

Please Note:

  • Each festival pass is for one person, and is non-transferable. The unique code you receive and use to RSVP for events must match the name of the person who is using the ticket for each event.
  • All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable, including festival wide pass purchases.
  • Festival pass holders are only guaranteed entry into events they have RSVP’d for with their unique code.
  • Our box office team at [email protected] is available to help you with any questions you have about your festival pass, and will send you more detailed information after your purchase.

Refund Policy

All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable. Please confirm the time and location of your event before finalizing your purchase. 

Discounts

Discounts are available for students and attendees facing economic hardship. Please email [email protected] for a discount code.

PEN America members will receive their discount code via email. To become a member, visit https://pen.org/membership/.


COVID-19 Policy

While not required, per public health official guidelines, the World Voices Festival recommends being fully vaccinated, and wearing masks in all public indoor settings as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, as well as around crowds. If you are feeling unwell, please do not come to the event. Reach out to [email protected] for assistance if you have already purchased a ticket.

In Los Angeles, our events do not require proof of vaccination, but all attendees are still encouraged to be fully vaccinated, and wear masks if/when appropriate. We thank you for ensuring our speakers, guests and venue workers feel safe and comfortable at all World Voices Festival events. If you have questions or concerns please contact [email protected].

Audience Code of Conduct

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to celebrate and defend free expression in the United States and worldwide. We aim for our events to stimulate robust dialogue and debate, and to foster environments where authors and attendees from diverse backgrounds feel free to speak their minds. We welcome respectful debate, critique, and disagreement.

For the safety of all participants, PEN America retains the right to remove any attendee(s) who do not comply with these policies from PEN America-sponsored or hosted events and the right to revoke without refund any tickets held by attendee(s) who do not comply with these policies.


Venues

Events for this year’s Festival will be held in-person at various venues in New York City and Los Angeles.

New York venues:

AIA Center for Architecture New York
536 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012

The Church of the Village
201 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

The Great Hall at Cooper Union
Foundation Building, 7 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

Jefferson Market Library
425 6th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003

Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House
58 W 10th St, New York, NY 10003

The New School Auditorium at 66 W 12th
66 W 12th St, New York, NY 10011

The New School Kellen Auditorium
2 West 13th Street at 66 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011

The New School Tishman Auditorium
The New School University Center
63 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Quad Cinema
34 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011

Strand Book Store
828 Broadway, New York, NY 10003


Los Angeles venues:

California African American Museum
600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037

The Huntington
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108

James Bridges Theater
235 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Los Angeles Central Library
Mark Taper Auditorium
630 W 5th St, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049


Accessibility and Safety

All Festival venues* are ADA compliant, and therefore wheelchair accessible. Exact accessibility details vary per event, and more information is available on each event page. *With exception of the “Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House,” which does not currently have a working elevator.

Select events will feature ASL interpretation. Please see individual event pages for details or email [email protected] for more information and to request additional accommodations.

For events that currently do not plan to provide ASL interpretation planned, you may request it. Requests must be received by April 21st. To request, please contact [email protected].


Books and Authors

Purchasing Books

Confirmation emails contain links to our independent bookstore partners, and select events will also have book following events. You may also purchase the books online or in-person at their brick-and-mortar locations in New York and Los Angeles.

Opportunities to Meet Authors

Most events will feature a Q&A component with authors and book signings. Please review Eventbrite confirmation and reminder emails for information about book signings.


Volunteering

There are many ways to participate as a Festival volunteer. Note: this year, we require that all volunteers provide proof of vaccination, agree to wear masks, and be respectful of others’ space. We accept volunteers who are 18 years of age or older. All volunteers must attend a brief mandatory training session, which will be held virtually. To register, please sign up here.


Contact Info

For all concerns not addressed here, please contact [email protected]. And thank you again for attending the 2023 PEN World Voices Festival!