The United States is a nation in worrisome decline. Escalating divisions drive intensifying violence, longstanding institutions are unraveling, and the fabric of democracy is being torn apart at the seams by tyranny—and, in the midst of it all, writers continue to write essential works of fiction, as they have done throughout every era of political chaos and upheaval. What does it mean to create art while grappling with the realities of socio-economic ruptures, horrific acts of authoritarianism, and climate catastrophe? American authors Jess Walter, Curtis Sittenfeld, Anne de Marcken, and Leila Mottley join us for a roundtable discussion lead by longtime Festival friend, author, and editor John Freeman, who has brought countless stories into the world through his long career as an editor and publisher—his latest book is California Rewritten: A Journey Through the Golden State’s New Literature.
Curtis Sittenfeld’s attendance presented thanks to the generous support of an anonymous patron.
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ANNE DE MARCKEN lives in the United States on the unneeded land of the Coast Salish people. She is the founding editor and publisher of The 3rd Thing.
JOHN FREEMAN has hosted Alta‘s California Book Club since its founding in 2020. He is an executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf, and he edited Freeman’s (2015–2023), a literary annual of new writing. His books include How to Read a Novelist and Dictionary of the Undoing, as well as the anthologies Tales of Two Americas, Tales of Two Planets, The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story, and Sacramento Noir. He is also the author of three poetry collections, Maps, The Park, and Wind, Trees. His work is translated into more than twenty languages, and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The New York Times. The former editor of Granta, he lives in New York.
LEILA MOTTLEY is the author of the novel Nightcrawling, an Oprah’s Book Club pick and New York Times best seller, and the poetry collection woke up no light. She is also the 2018 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate. She was born and raised in Oakland, where she continues to live.
CURTIS SITTENFELD is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels including Rodham, Eligible, Prep, American Wife, and Sisterland, as well as the collection You Think It, I’ll Say It. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and Vanity Fair, and on public radio’s This American Life.
JESS WALTER is the author of seven previous novels, including the bestsellers The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins, the National Book Award Finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.
