Live Watch Party at The Argyros
While both our Full Conference Passes and Special Series Pavilion Passes have sold out, there are still more ways to participate in SVWC 2025! Come join our Live Watch Party in downtown Ketchum July 19-21—we will broadcast select content directly to the theater screen at The Argyros. Passes are $25 per day. Click below to buy now or go to svwc.com/watchparty for the schedule of speakers.
2025 Presenters
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Todd S. Purdum

Max Boot

Abraham Verghese

Yael van der Wouden

Theodore H. Schwartz

Erling Kagge

Evan Osnos

Edward Luce

Colum McCann

The Improvised Shakespeare Company

Admiral James Stavridis

Nayantara Roy

Ruth Reichl

Meenakshi Ahamed

Sonia Purnell

Andre Dubus III

Carl Hiaasen

Ocean Vuong

Vivek H. Murthy, MD

Griffin Dunne

Claire Keegan

Sloane Crosley

Clara Bingham

Jonathan Blitzer

Dan Jones

Wright Thompson

Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Liz Moore

Paola Ramos

Oren Cass

Safiya Sinclair
Free Events & Community Programming
It is one of SVWC’s foremost goals to make the Conference and its content as accessible as possible, especially to students, teachers, and our local community. We have opened our doors each year, both virtually and in-person, with free Pavilion lawn talks, free livestreaming, free talks at The Community Library, as well as free online audio and video recordings (including our very own podcast) in our digital media library. This year, we are also offering Special Series Pavilion Passes and a Live Watch Party in downtown Ketchum. We invite you to join in and get inspired. For all the ways you can get involved for free, visit svwc.com/free.
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SVWC 2025 FREE Events & Community Programming
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Even if you can’t join us in person, you can still enjoy content from #SVWC2025! Free livestreaming is available for many of our talks, July 19–21 at svwc.com/livestream (no registration required). Tune in from anywhere in the world.
#SVWC #SunValleyWritersConference #WatchFromAnywhere #LivestreamLiterature #FreeLivestream #SVWCOnline #VirtualEvents #AuthorTalks #LiteraryCommunity #BooksFromHome #GlobalAudience #TuneInLive #StorytellingMatters
In works of piercing beauty and heartrending grace, in poetry and prose, Ocean Vuong has become one of his generation’s most necessary and unforgettable literary voices. Now, with The Emperor of Gladness, he returns with a bighearted second novel. One summer evening in post-industrial Connecticut, 19-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond. With his singular ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness, Vuong will discuss the novel and his writing with SVWC Literary Director John Burnham Schwartz.
This talk will be available for free lawn seating and free livestreaming! The Special Series Pavilion Pass to view this talk inside the Sun Valley Pavilion has sold out, but you can also view it at our Live Watch Party. Learn more at svwc.com/free and subscribe for updates at svwc.com/subscribe.
📸 : Tom Hines
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 8
The Library`s Donaldson Robb Family Lawn + Livestream
TONIGHT! The Community Library is thrilled to welcome acclaimed author Hampton Sides to deliver its 2025 Hemingway Distinguished Lecture. Sides is best-known for his gripping non-fiction adventure stories set in war or depicting epic expedition of discovery and exploration. Registration is currently full, but you can join the wait list or watch the livestream at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/14406902.
(Percival Everett was originally scheduled to delivery this lecture, but his visit has now been postponed.)
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“SVWC is unquestionably the best writers conference I have ever attended.”
– Rebecca Donner, SVWC 2022 Presenter