On March 6, 2027, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference will introduce something new.

SVWC Winter is a one-day gathering that brings six leading writers, thinkers, and experts to The Argyros in downtown Ketchum for a focused exploration of a single urgent theme: “The Age of Uncertainty: Humanity, Creativity, and Artificial Intelligence.”

Through a full day of individual talks, panels, and conversations, we will examine some of the most important questions shaping our future.

One day, one topic, explored through multiple lenses

In summer, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference brings together extraordinary writers and thinkers to explore a sweeping range of ideas over several days. SVWC Winter takes a different approach—smaller, more intimate, and designed to go deep rather than wide.

“We wanted to create a format that gives us the freedom to stay with a subject—to turn it over, examine it from different angles, and allow very different kinds of thinkers to be in conversation with one another,” explains SVWC Literary Director John Burnham Schwartz. “Artificial intelligence raises profound questions not only about technology, but also about creativity, power, identity, and what it means to be human. Those are exactly the kinds of questions writers are uniquely equipped to help us explore.”

Meet the presenters

The SVWC Winter program features an extraordinary group whose work spans politics, economics, neuroscience, literature, technology, and poetry: Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief of The Economist; former Obama deputy national security advisor and bestselling author Ben Rhodes; Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar; Stanford neuroscientist and bestselling author David Eagleman; techonology and finance journalist and author Sebastian Mallaby; and Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith. Together, they will approach the day’s theme from six distinct perspectives.

Why winter?

The winter event is designed to broaden the ways the community can engage with SVWC, with a new format, a different price point, and programming that extends beyond three days in summer.

“As a nonprofit, our mission is to bring today’s leading writers and thinkers—and the ideas they are grappling with—directly into the Wood River Valley, putting our community at the center of important conversations,” says Marketing & Communications Manager Kate Elgee Haase. “SVWC Winter gives us another opportunity to do that, and we hope it becomes a valuable source of connection, perspective, and inspiration for people across the valley.”

How to attend

SVWC Winter takes place Saturday, March 6, 2027, at The Argyros Performing Arts Center in downtown Ketchum. Passes range from $295–$495 and include reserved seating for the full day of programming and admission to the closing cocktail reception. Passes go on sale Tuesday, November 10 at 9:00am MST at svwc.com/winter.

Learn more about SVWC Winter. We hope to see you there!