Join Us July 18-20, 2026

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Watch Free via Livestream

Don’t miss our free livestream happening all weekend long! Saturday, July 18 to Monday, July 20.

If you can’t join us in person or simply prefer the comfort of home, you can still experience the 2026 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference from anywhere in the world—for free. Tune in to hear some of today’s most celebrated writers, journalists, historians, and thinkers. No registration required.

View the full livestream schedule at svwc.com/livestream.

WATCH NOW

BREAKOUT UPDATES

We have had several program changes to note:

Baker/Godwin/NoiseCat/Shteyngart Saturday afternoon breakouts have been rescheduled for Sunday, 12:30 – 1:15 PM.

Derek Thompson’s “Abundance for All” Sunday 9:30 AM session has been rescheduled for Monday, 12:30 – 1:15 PM.

Please click the schedule button below for updated details and venues.

VIEW PROGRAM

2026 Writers
& Presenters

See All Presenters

Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane

Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart

Sarabeth Berman

Sarabeth Berman

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Amy Bowers Cordalis

Amy Bowers Cordalis

Sebastian Mallaby

Sebastian Mallaby

Barbara Wansbrough

Barbara Wansbrough

David Gelles book

Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane book

Peter Godwin book

Susan Orlean book

Kiran Desai book

Derek Thompson book

Theo Baker book

Michael Pollan book

Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart book

Simon Rich book

Julia Lovell book

Sarabeth Berman

Shelley Read book

Abby Phillip book

Rick Atkinson book

Susan Choi book

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Julian Brave NoiseCat book

Virginia Evans book

Amy Bowers Cordalis

Amy Bowers Cordalis book

Sebastian Mallaby

Sebastian Mallaby book

Amor Towles book

Jill Lepore book

Liaquat Ahamed book

Atul Gawande book

David Sanger book

Barbara Wansbrough

Barbara Wansbrough book

David Gelles book

Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane book

Peter Godwin book

Susan Orlean book

Kiran Desai book

Derek Thompson book

Theo Baker book

Michael Pollan book

Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart book

Simon Rich book

Julia Lovell book

Sarabeth Berman

Shelley Read book

Abby Phillip book

Rick Atkinson book

Susan Choi book

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Julian Brave NoiseCat book

Virginia Evans book

Amy Bowers Cordalis

Amy Bowers Cordalis book

Sebastian Mallaby

Sebastian Mallaby book

Amor Towles book

Jill Lepore book

Liaquat Ahamed book

Atul Gawande book

David Sanger book

Barbara Wansbrough

Barbara Wansbrough book

David Gelles book

Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane book

Peter Godwin book

Susan Orlean book

Kiran Desai book

Derek Thompson book

Theo Baker book

Michael Pollan book

Gary Shteyngart

Gary Shteyngart book

Simon Rich book

Julia Lovell book

Sarabeth Berman

Shelley Read book

Abby Phillip book

Rick Atkinson book

Susan Choi book

Julian Brave NoiseCat

Julian Brave NoiseCat book

Virginia Evans book

Amy Bowers Cordalis

Amy Bowers Cordalis book

Sebastian Mallaby

Sebastian Mallaby book

Amor Towles book

Jill Lepore book

Liaquat Ahamed book

Atul Gawande book

David Sanger book

Barbara Wansbrough

Barbara Wansbrough book

Latest Updates

News

SVWC 2026 FREE Events & Community Programming

Join us for a week of free literary arts July 18-20! We have more ways than ever…

June 25 2026

News

The Live Watch Party Returns to The Argyros This July

June 5 2026

News

Pavilion Passes on Sale June 2

May 21 2026

News

SVWC 2026 FREE Events & Community Programming

June 25 2026

News

The Live Watch Party Returns to The Argyros This July

June 5 2026

News

Pavilion Passes on Sale June 2

May 21 2026

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Our Work in the Community

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Who We Are

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Writer in the World

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All the Ways to Join SVWC 2026

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Free Lawn Talks

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2026 Schedule & Program

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Featured Content

Podcasts

The Paris Novel

Videos

2025 Liz Moore – THE GOD OF THE WOODS

Videos

2025 Wright Thompson – THE BARN

Videos

2025 Erling Kagge – AFTER THE NORTH POLE

Videos

2025 Oren Cass – THE REORIENTATION OF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES

Videos

2025 Evan Osnos – THE HAVES AND THE HAVE-YACHTS

Videos

2025 Theodore H. Schwartz – GRAY MATTERS

Podcasts

What the Middle Ages Has Done for the Modern World

Podcasts

SVWC 2025 Writer in the World

Podcasts

The Haves and Have-Yachts

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Inside the most dangerous job in medicine.

Inside the most dangerous job in medicine.

with Ted Schwartz | July 21, 2025

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A beautiful start to #SVWC2026. Scenes from day one.⁠
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Photos: @rayjgadd⁠
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#SunValleyWritersConference #SunValley #BookLovers #ReadersOfInstagram #LiteraryFestival

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Our favorite weekend of the year is here... let the stories begin. 📚 #SVWC2026⁠
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📸 : Cooper Morton @cooper___morton

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Don't miss our free livestream happening all weekend long! Saturday, July 18 to Monday, July 20.⁠
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If you can't join us in person or simply prefer the comfort of home, you can still experience #SVWC2026 from anywhere in the world—for free. Tune in to hear some of today's most celebrated writers, journalists, historians, and thinkers. No registration required.⁠
⁠
View the full livestream schedule at svwc.com/media/livestream.

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TWO DAYS TO #SVWC2026... 📚 Don't miss the next five jam-packed days full of conversations with Ken Burns, Amor Towles, Beth Macy, Atul Gawande, Susan Orlean, Michael Pollan, Virginia Evans, and many more. Even though our Full Conference Passes have sold out, there are so many ways you can join #SVWC2026 without a full pass.⁠
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FREE Pavilion Lawn Talks – bring a picnic or low-back chair and we'll see you on the Pavilion Lawn for select talks! This year, we also have shaded seating in Tent B. No registration required.⁠
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FREE Livestreaming – Can't join us in person? Livestream select talks from the comfort of your own home for free! No registration required.⁠
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Live Watch Party ($25 per day) – Join us for a Live Watch Party of SVWC content at The Argyros theater in downtown Ketchum! Passes are on sale now.⁠
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FREE Community Speaker Series – in partnership with The Community Library, we hosted Julian Brave NoiseCat on July 15 and will host Virginia Evans, author of The Correspondent, on July 21. These talks are both full, but free livestreaming is available.⁠
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FREE for Local Students, Teachers, and Librarians – Local Wood River Valley students, teachers, and library staff are invited to join us for all Pavilion Talks. There is limited seating available, so check in at the Information Desk 30 minutes prior to each talk.⁠
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FREE Digital Media Library – Browse select audio and video content on our website from past events and stay tuned for 2026 talks after the Conference.⁠
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Pavilion Pass ($50 - $100, SOLD OUT) – these tickets to select Pavilion Talks range from $50 for a single talk or $100 for a curated two-talk package⁠
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Learn more at svwc.com/free. We'll see you there, booklovers! 📚

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Our final voice of #SVWC2026 belongs to the Pulitzer Prize-winning military historian Rick Atkinson and his majestic The Revolution Trilogy, specifically the most recently released second volume, The Fate of the Day, which covers the years 1777-1780 when George Washington’s exhausted army struggled to hold on. Atkinson’s dramatic and detailed account offers a vivid portrait of General Washington’s crucial leadership and reminds us how brutally long the War for Independence actually was. Atkinson, who was featured in Ken Burns’s most recent documentary, will take us on to the battlefields and introduce us to the courageous commanders who led the fight and the often ragtag young soldiers—White, Black, and Indigenous—who fought and died under their command.⁠
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Don't miss his talk, "The Momentous Fight for American Independence," on Monday, July 20 at 4:30 pm in the Sun Valley Pavilion! Here are all the ways to watch:⁠
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Bring your picnic and enjoy free seating on the Pavilion Lawn⁠
Watch from anywhere with our free livestream at svwc.com/livestream⁠
Reserve a seat at our Live Watch Party (passes on sale now)⁠
⁠
See you there! 📚 ✨ ⁠
⁠
Subscribe for updates at svwc.com/subscribe.⁠
⁠
Photo Credit: Elliot O’Donovan

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Tomorrow! Join us for a free talk and book signing with Julian Brave NoiseCat, presented by the Sun Valley Writers' Conference and The Community Library. @jnoisecat @thecommunitylibraryketchum⁠
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An award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and author, NoiseCat has become one of the leading Indigenous voices writing about identity, history, and justice. His acclaimed memoir, We Survived the Night, explores family, belonging, and what it means to come home, while his Oscar-nominated documentary Sugarcane sheds light on the lasting legacy of North America's Indian residential school system.⁠
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This free Community Speaker Series event is open to all. Registration is full, but you can still join us via livestream. ⁠
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📸 : © Emily Kassie

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Get ready for a weeklong literary celebration, right here in Sun Valley. It all kicks off on Wednesday, July 15, with masterful speakers, awe-inspiring talks, and cutting-edge presentations. You won't want to miss these free community events, open to the public both in-person and online. #bookloversunite⁠
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Learn more at svwc.com/free.⁠
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Wednesday, July 15⁠
-5:30pm Julian Brave NoiseCat at The Community Library (free—in-person registration is full but the talk is available to livestream)⁠
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Saturday, July 18⁠
-12:15pm Robert Macfarlane (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
-2:00pm Sebastian Mallaby (free livestreaming)⁠
-3:30pm Virginia Evans & Shelley Read (free livestreaming)⁠
-5:00pm Ken Burns (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
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Sunday, July 19⁠
-9:30am David Gelles (free livestreaming)⁠
-11:00am Atul Gawande (free livestreaming)⁠
-1:30pm David E. Sanger & Jill Lepore (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
-3:00pm Michael Pollan (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
-4:30pm Amor Towles (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
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Monday, July 20⁠
-9:30am David E. Sanger, Julia Lovell (free livestreaming)⁠
-11:00am Jill Lepore (free livestreaming)⁠
-1:30pm Ada Limon (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
-3:00pm Simon Rich & Co. (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
-4:30pm Rick Atkinson (free lawn seating + free livestreaming)⁠
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Tuesday, July 21⁠
5:30pm Virginia Evans at The Community Library (free—in-person registration is full but the talk is available to livestream)⁠
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Photos: Steve Smith Photography @stevesmithphoto, Halsey Pierce @halsey.pierce, Ray Gadd @rayjgadd, Kirsten Shultz @kirstenshultz_photography/

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8 days... 📖 ⁠
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📸 : Steve Smith Photography

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As part of our commitment to making #SVWC2026 more accessible, we’re once again offering FREE livestreaming of select talks July 18–20. Whether you’re across the valley or across the globe, you can join the conversation from anywhere—no registration required.

Tune in at svwc.com/livestream.

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We convene #SVWC2026 with the magical voice of Robert Macfarlane, a man who has been called the greatest nature writer of this generation. No one writes with more knowledge, passion, and lyricism about the natural world and how we can be better stewards of all its bounty. That theme underlies his globally acclaimed books, including most recently Is a River Alive?, the moving story of three imperiled rivers around the world and the intrepid people who have fought to reclaim them. In conversation with Jenny Emery Davidson, Executive Director of The Community Library in Ketchum, Macfarlane will talk about his adventures, literal and literary, and reflect on our beautiful, fragile planet, and the rivers that run through it.⁠
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Don't miss his talk on Saturday, July 18 at 12:15pm in the Sun Valley Pavilion! Here are all the ways to watch:⁠
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Bring your picnic and enjoy free seating on the Pavilion Lawn⁠
Watch from anywhere with our free livestream at svwc.com/livestream⁠
Reserve a seat at our Live Watch Party (passes on sale now)⁠
⁠
See you there! 📚 ✨ ⁠
⁠
Subscribe for updates at svwc.com/subscribe.⁠
⁠
📸 : Will Waterworth

25 1

Award-winning journalist and Guggenheim Fellow Beth Macy has built her career championing the underdog.⁠
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The bestselling author of Factory Man, Dopesick—adapted into the Peabody Award-winning Hulu series—and Paper Girl, she writes with compassion and tenacity about the people and communities too often left behind by corporate greed and political division. She is now running for Congress in her home state of Virginia.⁠
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We're looking forward to welcoming Macy to #SVWC2026 this July for what promises to be a timely and thought-provoking conversation.⁠
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Our full passes to the Writers' Conference have sold out, but we still have our free Community Speaker Series, free lawn talks, free livestreaming, and tickets to our Live Watch Party and Pavilion talks. Subscribe to receive updates about these events at svwc.com/subscribe.⁠
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📸 : Meredith Roller⁠
#BethMacy #Authors #CreativeNonfiction #BookLovers #WritingCommunity

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Looking for a fun way to experience #SVWC2026 with fellow book lovers?⁠
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We still have passes available to our Live Watch Party at The Argyros! Enjoy select Pavilion Talks on the big screen in the comfort of downtown Ketchum's performing arts center.⁠
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Passes are just $25 per day and are on sale now.⁠
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See the schedule of talks below. You can learn more and buy passes at svwc.com/watchparty.⁠
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Saturday, July 18⁠
12:15 PM “The Rivers of Robert Macfarlane” with Robert Macfarlane⁠
2:00 PM “The Quest for Superintelligence” with Sebastian Mallaby⁠
3:30 PM “New Voices” with Virginia Evans and Shelley Read⁠
4:15 PM SPECIAL EVENT: Typewriter Rodeo will be writing free custom poems in the lobby!⁠
5:00 PM “Writer in the World” with Ken Burns⁠
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Sunday, July 19⁠
9:30 AM “Dirtbag Billionaire” with David Gelles⁠
11:00 AM “The Global Health Crisis” with Atul Gawande⁠
1:30 PM “The President’s Power” with Jill Lepore, David E. Sanger, and Abby Phillip⁠
3:00 PM “A World Appears” with Michael Pollan⁠
4:30 PM "The Consummate Storyteller” with Amor Towles⁠
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Monday, July 20⁠
9:30 AM “The New World Disorder” with Julia Lovell, David E. Sanger, and Evan Osnos⁠
11:00 AM “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State” with Jill Lepore and Evan Osnos⁠
1:30 PM “A Poetry Reading” with Ada Limon⁠
3:00 PM "Stories from All In: A Performance” with Simon Rich & Company⁠
4:30 PM “The Momentous Fight for American Independence” with Rick Atkinson⁠
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Photos: Tessa Sheehan & Adri Meyer

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15 days... 📕 ⁠
Happy 250th Birthday, America! 🇺🇸 ⁠
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📸: Steve Smith Photography stevesmithphotography

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Some of the best seats at SVWC don't require a ticket.⁠
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At our non-profit, one of our goals is to make world-class literary conversations accessible to our entire community. That's why we're once again offering FREE Pavilion Lawn Talks during #SVWC2026—inviting everyone to experience some of today's most celebrated writers, including Ken Burns, Robert Macfarlane, Ada Limon, Michael Pollan, Jill Lepore, Amor Towles, and more.⁠
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Pack a picnic, bring a blanket or low-back chair, and enjoy some of the most popular talks from the Sun Valley Pavilion Lawn. No registration. No tickets. Just show up!⁠
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New this year: Tent B will feature shaded seating, fans, large screens, and closed captioning—making Lawn Talks more comfortable and accessible than ever.⁠
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We can't wait to welcome our community July 18–20. 📚☀️⁠
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For a complete schedule and more details, visit svwc.com/free-lawn-talks.

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Since the publication of his first novel, writer Amor Towles has been on everyone’s list of their favorite novelists. The world immediately recognized the irresistible new voice of a natural storyteller, someone with an innate instinct for drama and a tenderness for the foibles of his all-too-human characters. His novels, including Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway, have collectively sold more than six million copies and been translated into 30 languages. He will talk with Jeffrey Brown, of the PBS NewsHour, about the genesis of the novels and his latest work of fiction, Table for Two, six stories based in New York City and a novella set in Golden Age Hollywood, all marked by his gift for acute observations of people and places. @amortowles⁠
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Don't miss his talk on Sunday, July 19 in the Sun Valley Pavilion! Here are all the ways to watch:⁠
⁠
Bring your picnic and enjoy free seating on the Pavilion Lawn⁠
Watch from anywhere with our free livestream at svwc.com/livestream⁠
Reserve a seat at our Live Watch Party (passes on sale now)⁠
⁠
See you there! 📚 ✨ ⁠
⁠
📸 : Dmitri Kasterine

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If you want a book (or docuseries) to meet this semiquincentennial moment, look no further! For more book recs from our 2026 Reading List, head to the link in bio.⁠
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#America250⁠
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https://svwc.com/news/what-book-should-you-read-next-2026

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Few writers are as endlessly curious—or as delightfully unpredictable—as Susan Orlean @susanorlean.⁠
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From The Orchid Thief, which inspired the Oscar-winning film Adaptation, to The Library Book and her acclaimed new memoir, Joyride, Orlean has spent decades uncovering extraordinary stories hidden in ordinary places.⁠
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One of America's most beloved nonfiction writers, she's joining us at #SVWC2026 this July—and we can't wait to hear where her curiosity takes us next.⁠
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Our full passes to the Writers' Conference have sold out, but we still have our free Community Speaker Series, free lawn talks, free livestreaming, and tickets to our Live Watch Party and Pavilion talks. Subscribe to receive updates about these events at svwc.com/subscribe.⁠
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📸 : Noah Fecks⁠
#SusanOrlean #SunValley #WritersConference #LiteraryEvents #Nonfiction

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22 days... 📚 ⁠
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📸: @haygilmour

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Registration for our free Community Speaker Series talks, in partnership with The Community Library, filled up quickly this year. But you can livestream both Julian Brave NoiseCat (July 15) and Virginia Evans (July 21) directly from The Community Library website—no registration required (pending author permissions). Visit svwc.com/community-speaker-series for more info (link in bio). And of course, stay tuned for all the other ways to get involved this year by checking out svwc.com/free.⁠
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@jnoisecat @virginia.l.evans ⁠
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📸: © Emily Kassie, © Austin Joffe

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Want to experience Ken Burns at #SVWC2026? Here are three ways to join the conversation this July:⁠
⁠
• Bring your picnic and enjoy free seating on the Pavilion Lawn⁠
• Watch from anywhere with our free livestream at svwc.com/livestream⁠
• Reserve a seat at our Live Watch Party (passes on sale now)⁠
⁠
We are honored to award the 2026 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference Writer in the World Prize to Ken Burns on July 18. For almost half a century, he has told us the story of America through some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War, Baseball, Jazz, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, The Vietnam War, Country Music, and The American Buffalo. Each one has entertained and enlightened and often haunted us, none more so than his most recent, The American Revolution. Burns will talk about his passion for the documentary form and, in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning military historian Rick Atkinson, tell us about his latest project on the Revolution and about how, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding, the idea of democracy moves him as it did the leaders and foot soldiers who gave their lives fighting and dying for it. @kenlburns⁠
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Subscribe for updates at svwc.com/subscribe.⁠
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Photo Credit: Stephanie Berger

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