The PEN World Voices Festival and the Hay Festival are the latest major book events to transition from physical to virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PEN America, the literary nonprofit group, kicked off its all-digital World Voices Festival on Wednesday. The event is traditionally held at a series of venues in New York and Los Angeles.
“We know the literary community is hurting right now,” PEN America President Jennifer Egan said in a news release. “These conversations, mini-workshops, and intimate peeks into writers’ lives are meant to provide solace, diversion, and inspiration for readers and writers around the world.”
Virtual events hosted by PEN include a weekly podcast called “These Truths,” a video series of writing workshops called “Pen to Paper,” and a musical series called “Just Press Play.” Participating authors include Egan, Elif Shafak, Laila Lalami, and Tommy Pico.
The Hay Festival in Wales, one of the U.K.’s most prominent literary events, has also made the switch to online.
Festival director Peter Florence told the BBC that the organizers will “be zinging the program as if from a green field in Wales."
The festival, scheduled for May 18 through May 31, will feature a series of online shows aimed at schoolchildren, a celebration of poet William Wordsworth, and appearances by Ali Smith, Roddy Doyle, Hilary Mantel, and other authors.
“We have worked hard to ensure our virtual Festival doors are wide open and look forward to sharing Hay Festival Digital with you,” the organizers said on the festival website.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
