Community Engagement

Community Scholars Program
(Local Student & Teacher Scholarships)

Thanks to the generous support of our donors, our Community Scholars Program was expanded and enhanced in 2024. Through this program, students and educators within the Blaine County school system can apply for a scholarship to attend the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference. Four recipients are chosen and provided a Full Conference Pass ($1,100 each) and invited to attend special events. The goal of this program, focused specifically on students and teachers within Blaine County, is to share the experience and learning offered at SVWC. We hope these scholars will be inspired to then share that knowledge within their wider circles, weaving a love of literature further throughout our community. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please email us or apply now.

Education Scholarships

In 2022, we provided scholarship passes to six representatives from Teach for America (TFA). We hope to partner with more programs like these in the future, discovering new ways to collaborate and support literary education and literacy in the United States.

Writing Fellows Program

As part of our Writing Fellows Program, SVWC invites talented young writers from around the nation to attend the Conference each year. These fledgling writers are scouted by SVWC from literary programs such as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, WriteGirl LA, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Boise State University’s Creative Writing MFA Program, and more. Thanks to donor support, SVWC sponsors their travel and lodging and provides them with Full Conference Passes ($1,100 each). While at the Conference, they attend talks, private dinners, and often have one-on-one time with our visiting speakers who provide them with inspiration and direction as they embark on their creative journeys. If you are interested in learning more about this program, please email us.

New Voices Fellowship

The New Voices Fellowship was inaugurated in 2022 thanks to the support of the Grossman Family Foundation (in honor of Peggy Grossman). Our literary conference is filled with recognizable and well-established authors, but this fellowship is offered specifically to debut novelists—young, award-winning writers whose budding work is both original and daring—to bring fresh perspectives and voices into the SVWC fold. These writers are hand-picked by our Literary Committee, and each year they join our lineup of writers and presenters, alongside such eminent names as Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Abraham Verghese. During the Conference, they give a “New Voices” breakout talk to discuss their work and decision to become writers. Learn more about this our recent New Voices Fellows.

Student/Author Luncheon

The Student/Author Luncheon has been part of SVWC since 2017, when Colson Whitehead first spoke to high school students about his novel The Underground Railroad. As part of this program, each year SVWC partners with local teachers to select a writer and book relevant to students. The books, donated by SVWC, are then read as part of the spring high school language arts curriculum throughout the Wood River Valley.

During the Writers’ Conference in July, the students are invited to attend talks given by that featured writer as well as a private luncheon hosted by SVWC—allowing the students to experience intimate time with the writer so they can ask burning questions, get books signed, and dive deeper into the lessons within their text.

Past participating writers include Anthony Doerr and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Cloud Cuckoo Land (2022), Dave Eggers and The Circle (2019), Karan Mahajan and The Association of Small Bombs (2018), and Alejandra Compoverdi and First Gen (2024).

School Speaker Series

This program first began when, in 2019, SVWC brought celebrated young adult author Pablo Cartaya to the Wood River Valley to visit the area’s schools and speak to students and teachers. During his talk at the Wood River Middle School, nearly 800 students gathered to hear him speak. Later, in collaboration with The Community Library and Iconoclast Books, he gave a free presentation and book signing in the library’s Lecture Hall.

In 2024, post-pandemic and thanks to a generous donation, the program was revived. In partnership with The Community Library, SVWC was able to bring Javier Zamora (a 2023 SVWC alum) back to our valley. He spoke to students and their families in Spanish at the Wood River Middle School, followed by a visit with “newcomer” Hispanic students at the Wood River High School.

We continue to program school speaker events throughout the year. Stay tuned for upcoming events by subscribing to our email newsletter.

“Thank you for sharing your story with us. I appreciate that you’re encouraging students to learn their stories and to get engaged with their family roots. Now it’s my time to find my story.” 

–  WRMS 6th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

“Thank you for coming to our school and giving the most awesome book talk ever! I really liked the way you told the stories – it made me laugh so hard I almost cried. Not lying.” 

–  WRMS 7th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

“Thank you for giving us your story. I have always thought authors of books are celebrities, but you reminded me that they are just ordinary people who have done extraordinary things.”

–  WRMS 6th Grader, Thank You Note to Pablo Cartaya

Free Talks for Local Students, Teachers & Librarians

Each year, we invite local Wood River Valley students, teachers, and library staff to attend select Sun Valley Writers’ Conference talks for free in the Pavilion. We want to open our doors and make the Writers’ Conference as accessible as possible for our local community. For details, visit our Free Events & Community Programming page.

Free Pavilion Lawn Talks

We want our local community to enjoy what SVWC has to offer, which is why we have opened up select Pavilion Talks for free seating on the lawn of the Sun Valley Pavilion. Bring a picnic, blanket, and low-back chair and join us to hear from some of our country’s most inspiring minds at work. Visit our Free Lawn Talks page for more information.

Free Community Speaker Series

The Community Speaker Series was launched in 2016 in partnership with The Community Library. This free event has evolved into a year-round lecture series. We collaborate to bring in writers from all over the country and give talks at the library throughout the year. Two of these talks typically bookend the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference in July. Past presenters include Judy Blume, John Vaillant, Javier Zamora, Curtis Sittenfeld, Imbolo Mbue, Jamaica Kincaid, Ayad Akhtar, Tobias Wolff, Susan Orlean, and many more.

For more information about this program, visit our Community Speaker Series page.

Free Livestreaming

If you can’t join us in person, you can livestream select talks from the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference for free, from anywhere! You don’t have to leave your home to witness some of the country’s—and the world’s—best writers and thinkers.

We recommend signing up for our email newsletter for important updates and information about free livestreaming, including registration information.

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We also offer free online content in our digital media library and free talks for local students, teachers, and librarians! Learn more at our svwc.com/free page.

Single Event Tickets

To keep the Conference as affordable as possible, we offer individual tickets to select talks held inside the Sun Valley Pavilion. These tickets often sell out quickly. For important updates and information, we recommend signing up for our email newsletter and checking our Single Event Tickets page.

Live Watch Party at The Argyros

The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference set records in 2024 (our 30^th Anniversary). Conference Passes sold out in less than 15 minutes and single event tickets in under 10 minutes. Both talks at the Community Speaker Series were full within a few hours. To help meet growing demand, and offer our community as much access to our event as possible, we created a brand-new special offering in 2024—a Live Watch Party at The Argyros theater in downtown Ketchum.

For more information, visit our Live Watch Party page and sign up for our email newsletter for updates about this event.

Free Community Speaker Series

Since 2016, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference has partnered with The Community Library in Ketchum to host free literary lectures for the local community. In 2021, the partnership expanded to become our year-round Community Speaker Series, featuring multiple free talks throughout the year, with a few speakers “bookending” the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference each July, bringing our country’s brightest literary minds directly to the Sun Valley community. They are free and open to the public (registration required). Past presenters include Javier Zamora, Curtis Sittenfeld, Imbolo Mbue, Erich Schwartzel, Ayad Akhtar, Tobias Wolff, Susan Orlean, and many more.

Library Scholarships

Every year, each of our valley’s libraries—The Community Library, Hailey Public Library, and Bellevue Public Library—are provided with Full Conference Passes ($1,100 each) to share amongst their staff. We also invite all local librarians to attend select Pavilion talks for free.

Boise State University Bookstore

For the last several years, we have partnered with the Boise State University Bookstore, a nonprofit entity, to manage our on-site bookstore tent at the Conference. From these book sales, 100% of the profits go toward the BSU Readers & Writers Scholarship Fund, encouraging intellectual growth for readers and writers in higher education. Funds are used to underwrite travel and expenses for two SVWC Writing Fellows from the Boise State University Creative Writing MFA Program to attend the Conference each year. Since 2016, more than $125,000 has been donated to the program through SVWC book sales.

Local Bookstores

We support our local, independent bookstores and collaborate with them whenever possible. We partner with them to handle book sales for SVWC events throughout the year, including the Community Speaker Series and the Argyros Live Watch Party. We highly recommend shopping for your SVWC books at these locations.

Chapter One Bookstore

340 Second Street
Ketchum, ID 83340
208-726-5425

Iconoclast Books & Gifts

15 East Bullion Street
Hailey, ID 83333
208-726-1564

Over the years, we have endeavored to open our doors, both virtually and in-person, to fuel a love of literature within our community and abroad. To make our content even more accessible, we offer a free digital media library on our website. With everything from our Beyond the Page podcast and SVWC audio and video recordings, including some of the most popular talks throughout the years, to free livestreaming during the Conference, you can experience all the best of SVWC from anywhere in the world.

Explore the entire SVWC digital media library.