The word SPEAKERS in bold yellow text is displayed against a black background with abstract book-like shapes.
  • A woman with long dark hair sits against a white brick wall, wearing a dark jacket, jeans, and red socks. She rests her head on her hand and gazes at the camera, sitting on a wooden floor.

    Rivka Galchen

    Rivka Galchen is an award novelist and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. She is the author of five books: Atmospheric Disturbances (Novel, FSG, 2008),…

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  • Man with short gray hair and glasses, wearing a light blue shirt with small heart patterns and a white undershirt, stands against a plain light background.

    Rubén Martínez

    Rubén Martínez, is a writer, teacher, and performer. He holds the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing at Loyola Marymount University, where he serves the English,…

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  • Woman with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a blue jacket and green necklace, looking to the right, standing in front of a white textured wall.

    Ruth Ben-Ghiat

    Ruth Ben-Ghiat is Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. She writes about fascism, authoritarianism, and propaganda— and the threats these present to democracies around…

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  • Smiling person with short hair and a beard, wearing a blue and white patterned button-up shirt, standing against a plain white background.

    Sabir Sultan

    Sabir Sultan is the director of the World Voices Festival and Literary Programs at PEN America. He has curated literary programs for nearly a decade. Prior to PEN…

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  • A person with short brown hair and facial hair is facing the camera with a neutral expression. They are outdoors with a clear blue sky and distant horizon in the background.

    Sam Sacks

    Sam Sacks has written the Fiction Chronicle for the Wall Street Journal since 2011. His essays and criticism have also appeared in Harper’s, The London Review of Books,…

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  • Black and white portrait of a person with curly hair, wearing a dark shirt and turtleneck, sitting against a plain background, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

    Sam Sussman

    Sam Sussman is the author of the debut novel Boy From the North Country (Penguin Press, September 2025). His writing has been recognized by BAFTA and published…

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  • A woman with long, dark hair and a black jacket stands in front of a wooden wall. She is wearing earrings and a necklace, and she is smiling softly at the camera.

    Samina Ali

    Samina Ali is an award-winning author, curator, and popular speaker. Her debut novel, Madras on a Rainy Day won France’s prestigious Prix Premier Roman Etranger and was…

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  • A woman with short brown hair, wearing a dark sweater and a long necklace, smiles while standing indoors in front of large windows with a street view outside.

    Sandra Smith

    Sandra Smith has published over forty translations, including Suite Française and 12 other novels by Irène Némirovsky, But You Did Not Come Back (Marceline Loridan-Ivens), The Necklace and Other Stories: Maupassant for…

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  • Young person with long, curly hair and a neutral expression, wearing a patterned blouse and layered necklaces, against a plain background.

    Sarah Dillard

    Sarah Dillard (she/her) is the World Voices Festival and Literary Programs Manager at PEN America. She also oversees the PEN Ten interview series as well as other…

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  • A woman with dark hair, wearing a black top and an ornate jacket, smiles at the camera. She is indoors, with a blurred background featuring dark and light tones.

    Sawad Hussain

    Sawad Hussain is a translator from Arabic whose work was shortlisted for The 2023 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary…

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  • Woman with long hair rests her chin on crossed hands, wearing a dark sweater, sitting at a white table against a plain white background. She appears thoughtful, gazing slightly downward.

    Sheila Heti

    Sheila Heti is the author of eleven books, including the novels Pure Colour; Motherhood and How Should a Person Be? She was named one of “The New…

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  • A person with long dark hair tied back, wearing a white top, looking at the camera. They are outdoors against a blurred cityscape background.

    Shiori Itō

    Shiori Ito is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. Her primary focus is gender-based human rights issues. In 2020, TIME magazine named her as one of the…

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  • Black and white portrait of a person with short hair, resting their head on their hand. They wear a patterned top and have a serene expression, gazing directly into the camera.

    Sigrid Nunez

    Sigrid Nunez has published nine novels, including A Feather on the Breath of God, The Last of Her Kind, The Friend, What Are You Going Through, and,…

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  • A person with short blonde hair and blue eyes is looking directly at the camera, wearing a black top. The background is softly blurred, highlighting their expression.

    Siri Hustvedt

    Siri Hustvedt is the author of a book of poetry, six essay collections, seven novels, including The Blazing World and Memories of the Future, and a work…

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  • A woman with long dark hair, wearing a light-colored outfit, smiles at the camera. She stands in front of a bookshelf filled with various books. The image is in black and white.

    Soraya Nadia McDonald

    Soraya Nadia McDonald is an award-winning cultural critic and journalist. As senior critic for Andscape (formerly known as The Undefeated), she won the George Jean Nathan prize…

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  • A person with silver hair styled in a top knot and shaved sides leans against a wall. They are wearing a blue button-up shirt and a necklace, gazing directly at the camera with a neutral expression. The background is softly blurred.

    Stephen Graham Jones

    Stephen Graham Jones is the NYT bestselling author of some thirty or thirty-five novels and collections, and there’s some novellas and comic books in there as well.…

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