With five Pulitzer Prize winners, two National Book Award finalists, six New York Times bestsellers, and a former U.S. Poet Laureate, the 2023 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference (SVWC) will present “the strongest literary list we’ve ever had,” according to SVWC Literary Director John Burnham Schwartz.

Now celebrating our 29^th year, SVWC 2023 will be held Saturday, July 22 through Monday, July 24 at the stunning Sun Valley Resort and Pavilion. For three days, some of the country’s—and the world’s—best writers and thinkers, including fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, policymakers, and poets will descend upon the small town of Sun Valley, Idaho. This year, the impressive line-up will include Abraham Verghese, Tracy K. Smith, Ezra Klein, and many more.

Listen to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum explain, with electrifying clarity, why some of her contemporaries have abandoned liberal democratic ideals in favor of nationalist movements. Laugh until it hurts while humorist Dave Barry illuminates, with characteristic wit, what it’s actually like to live in Florida. Learn from science writer and bestselling author Ed Yong about the extraordinary sensory world of other animals. And hear the heart-wrenching story of Salvadoran poet Javier Zamora, who made a 3,000-mile journey from El Salvador to the United States when he was only nine years old… alone.

These ground-breaking presentations fuse together a thoughtfully curated mix of today’s top issues, presented by the brightest thinkers and writers of our time. As Schwartz explains, “Every year, the biggest star of the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference is our program; and the biggest star of our program is not one individual writer, however amazing, but all of the writers taken together—an unparalleled literary constellation of breadth, talent, and insight.” Join us for three days of uninterrupted inspiration and connection in a deeply thought-provoking space—illuminating ideas, igniting curiosity, and activating intellect.

SVWC 2023 speakers will include Anne Applebaum, Dave Barry, Jake Barton, Aleksandra Crapanzano, Hernan Diaz, Andrea Elliott, Jonathan Escoffery, David Grann, Mohsin Hamid, Maria Hinojosa, Jennifer Homans, Al Hunt, Robert Kagan, Michelle Kaufman, Patrick Radden Keefe, Ezra Klein, Annie Lowrey, Emily St. John Mandel, Sarah Thankam Mathews, Evan Osnos, Imani Perry, Radek Sikorski, Curtis Sittenfeld, Tracy K. Smith, Abraham Verghese, Judy Woodruff, Ed Yong, and Javier Zamora. Stay tuned to our website as the list of SVWC 2023 speakers continues to grow.

Passes for 2023 will go on sale February 16 on our website. We have two passes available this year—a Full Conference Pass ($1,100) and a Next Generation Pass ($550) for those 35 and under. This year, passes will be sold online on a first-come, first-served basis (starting at 10am Mountain Time on February 16). There is a limited number and, as in years past, they are expected to sell out quickly—possibly within minutes. We will not be implementing a lottery system this year, so be sure to mark your calendars for February 16.

If you would like to get early access to passes, and therefore guarantee your pass for 2023, consider joining the SVWC 2023 Family of Donors. Depending on your donation level, you will be given exclusive access to the Donor Priority Pre-Sale—open until January 31, this pre-sale allows you to purchase passes in advance of the public pass sale on February 16.

If passes sell out or you are unable to purchase a pass for any reason, stay tuned to the free community events page at svwc.com/free. There will be information about free speakers in partnership with The Community Library, free livestreaming, free Pavilion Lawn talks, and more. For specific Pavilion talks, single event tickets will also be available for $35 each.

Sign up for the email newsletter for important updates and information at svwc.com/subscribe or reach out if you have any questions at [email protected].

We’ll see you in July!

Photo: Nils Ribi