2026 Community Speaker Series: Free Library Talks
By: SVWC
Julian Brave NoiseCat (July 15) and Virginia Evans (July 21)
This July, we’re thrilled to welcome two extraordinary writers to the Wood River Valley as part of our 2026 Community Speaker Series, presented in partnership with The Community Library.
Each summer, this series gives our broader community a chance to experience the conversations and ideas that make the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference so special—for free.
This year’s speakers will join us for two evening talks at the library’s Lecture Hall.
EVENT DETAILS
Julian Brave NoiseCat
Wednesday, July 15 | 5:30 PM
Community Library Lecture Hall
Virginia Evans
Tuesday, July 21 | 5:30 PM
Community Library Lecture Hall
Both events will include audience Q&A and book signings, with books available for purchase on site.
HOW TO ATTEND
Registration is required and opens May 4 at 9:00 AM MST on The Community Library website. These events tend to fill quickly, so we recommend reserving your seat as soon as registration opens.
If the room reaches capacity, free livestream access will also be available (pending author permissions), so anyone can tune in.
A PARTNERSHIP WE TREASURE
We launched this partnership with The Community Library in 2017 as a way to share the writers and ideas of the Conference with our community. What began as a handful of events has since grown into a year-round speaker series, bringing nationally recognized authors and thinkers to the Wood River Valley—including special talks during Conference week each July.
As Martha Williams, Director of Programs and Education at The Community Library, puts it: “We look forward to this partnership each year, and we’re grateful to SVWC for sharing some amazing speakers with our local community. These talks broaden the audience that great writers can reach beyond the conference weekend and are a great opportunity for our local readers.”
For us, the partnership is deeply meaningful. “Libraries are at the heart of any vibrant literary community,” says SVWC Marketing and Communications Manager Kate Elgee Haase. “We’re proud to work together to bring these conversations beyond the Conference and into the community.”
A TRADITION OF GREAT WRITERS
Past speakers in the Community Speaker Series have included Judy Blume, John Vaillant, Javier Zamora, Curtis Sittenfeld, Imbolo Mbue, Ayad Akhtar, Tobias Wolff, and Susan Orlean, among many others.
We’re excited to continue the tradition this summer.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE CONFERENCE
The 2026 Sun Valley Writers’ Conference will take place July 18–20 at the Sun Valley Resort & Pavilion.
We hope you’ll join us for this or one of our many other free community events and programs—and help us celebrate the power of books, ideas, and conversation.
Learn more and register:
svwc.com/community-speaker-series
comlib.org/2026/2026-community-speaker-series/
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We thank our donors and their generosity for making this special program possible. To learn more about supporting SVWC, visit our donations page.
Photo credits: Emily Kassie, Austin Joffe