Speakers

  • A woman with long dark hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing gold hoop earrings and a dark navy top with a floral pattern, set against a bright pink background.

    Reyna Grande

    Reyna Grande is an author whose life and work speak to resilience. Born in Mexico, she was left behind for years before embarking on a perilous journey…

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  • A person with natural curly hair styled up, wearing hoop earrings and a nose ring, looks at the camera with a neutral expression. The background is a bright lime green.

    Rivers Solomon

    Rivers Solomon is a writer and lecturer. Their home is in the realm of the imaginary, where Blackness, queerness, and disability become sites of insurgency. In addition…

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  • Black-and-white photo of a person wearing glasses and a scarf, looking at the camera, set against a solid purple background.

    Robin Coste Lewis

    Robin Coste Lewis is the author of Voyage of the Sable Venus, her first collection of poetry, which won the National Book Award. The book was also…

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  • A woman with long dark hair and red lipstick wears a green striped top with bead necklaces, posing confidently against a bright pink background.

    Robin Ha

    Robin Ha (she/her) is the award-winning author/illustrator of the graphic novel memoir Almost American Girl. At fourteen she moved to the United States from Seoul, Korea. Her…

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  • A man with a beard and mustache, wearing a black t-shirt and backpack, shades his eyes with his hand while smiling against a solid pink background.

    Rodrigo Hasbún

    Rodrigo Hasbún is a Bolivian writer and screenwriter. He is the author of eight works of fiction and nonfiction, including the novels Affections (Simon & Schuster) and…

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  • A person with long, curly brown hair and red lipstick wears a leopard-print top, looking directly at the camera against a solid purple background.

    S. Dylan Zwickel

    S. Dylan Zwickel is a New York City- and London-based writer and director originally from Los Angeles. Her plays, musicals, and pilots have been finalists or semifinalists…

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  • A young man with curly hair and a serious expression is shown in black and white against a bright pink background.

    Sam Sussman

    Sam Sussman is the author of the debut novel Boy From the North Country, a three-time USA Today national bestseller and finalist for the National Jewish Book…

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  • A middle-aged man with short black hair, wearing glasses and a purple collared shirt, is smiling slightly. The background is a solid bright yellow-green color.

    Samrat Upadhyay

    Samrat Upadhyay is the first Nepali-born fiction writer to be published in the West. He is the author of seven books of fiction that have been translated…

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  • A woman with short brown hair and a neutral expression wears a dark top and a chunky, colorful necklace, posing in front of a bright yellow-green background.

    Sandra Smith

    Sandra Smith is a translator that has has published over forty translations, including Suite Française and twelve other novels by Irène Némirovsky, But You Did Not Come…

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  • A woman with long dark hair, wearing a black top, a necklace, and green earrings, smiles in front of a bright yellow-green background.

    Sangamithra Iyer

    Sangamithra Iyer is an environmental planner, engineer, and writer. She is the recipient of a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant,a Café Royal Foundation Literature Grant, and the Diamonstein-Spielvogel…

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  • A smiling woman with long, braided hair wearing a black leather jacket poses with her hand on her chin against a solid bright blue background.

    Saraciea J. Fennell

    Saraciea J. Fennell is a Brooklyn-born Black Honduran American writer from the Bronx. She is the founder of The Bronx Is Reading and creator of Honduran Garifuna…

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  • A woman with long dark hair and a neutral expression, wearing a black shirt, is shown against a solid purple background. The photo is black and white except for the background.

    Sarah Jeong

    Sarah Jeong is a lawyer, journalist, and author who writes for The Verge. She was previously on the editorial board of The New York Times, and has…

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  • A woman with long light brown hair, wearing a teal top, looking thoughtful against a bright yellow-green background.

    Sarah Ruhl

    Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, poet, and essayist. Her books include Smile, a memoir; 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write (a New York Times Notable…

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  • A young person with short, dark hair wearing a black textured sweater looks over their shoulder against a bright yellow-green background.

    Silvia Park

    Silvia Park is the author of Luminous, which was longlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction, and longlisted…

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  • A person with short, tousled blonde hair and light skin wearing a black turtleneck, looking slightly to the side and smiling softly, set against a bright pink background.

    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 several works…

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  • A woman with long dark hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing a white blazer over a floral blouse and gold hoop earrings, standing against a solid bright blue background.

    Summer Lopez

    Summer Lopez is co-Chief Executive Officer of PEN America. She joined the organization in 2017 and previously served as chief program officer, free expression; in that role,…

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