Aspen Words

Calling all writers and aspiring authors, this silent auction item is for YOU! Full details at the link in bio.

Enjoy lunch in New York City with a top literary agent and partner from The Book Group Literary Agency, whose published authors include Liane Moriarty (“Here One Moment”), Michelle Zauner ( “Crying in H Mart”), Celeste Ng (“Little Fires Everywhere”), and more. 

Get candid advice on finding an agent, navigating the publishing process, and turning your manuscript into a book.

📚 Lunch included
📍 New York City

Your publishing journey may just start with this conversation. Bid today at the link in our bio!

🦅✨ Bid today on a once-in-a-lifetime morning for bird lovers, nature enthusiasts, and book fans alike.✨🦅 Link in bio!

Support for Aspen Words looks like: Grabbing your binoculars and stepping into Aspen’s quiet beauty alongside celebrated novelist Jonathan Franzen and expert naturalist Rebecca Weiss, author of “Birds of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley”.

Best known for acclaimed novels like “The Corrections,” “Freedom,” and “Crossroads,” Franzen is also a passionate birder who has called discovering birds “the third major revelation of my life.”

During this intimate 90-minute guided walk, just 8 participants (including Franzen and Weiss) will explore Aspen’s diverse bird habitats, spot local species, and enjoy meaningful conversation in the field.

Whether you’re an avid birder, a curious beginner, or a longtime reader of Franzen’s work, this is a unique opportunity to experience nature through the eyes of two passionate observers (and raises critical funds for Aspen Words’ programs).

Limited space available. Learn more and start bidding at the link in our bio!

📢 Free book 📕 alert! 🚨

Hope to see you this Wednesday, June 3, at the Pitkin County Library for the 2026 Community Read book distribution party. We are giving away over 300 free copies of the Aspen Words Literary Prize-Winning novel “Endling” by Maria Reva. Bring a friend and join us for refreshments, music and conversation. Reserve your copy at the link in bio. 📚🐌

Start summer off with afternoons full of writing inspiration. The Summer Words Panels Pass includes in-person access to six dynamic talks (June 22-26) exploring everything from revision and character development to narrative strategy and the realities of publishing. Purchase ($40) here: https://support.aspeninstitute.org/event/2026-summer-words-public-panels/e789613

Check out the 2026 panel lineup:

Monday, June 22
🎤 Inside Publishing: How It Actually Works
with Ashley Lopez, Cece Lyra, Ryan Harbage & Rebekah Jett
Moderated by Cindy Uh

Tuesday, June 23
🎤Finding the Form: How Structure Unlocks Story
with Jamel Brinkley & Meghan O’Rourke
Moderated by Mitzi Rapkin

Wednesday, June 24
🎤The Art of Perspective
with Christopher Castellani

🎤Where Meaning Lives: The Hidden Power of Detail
with Hannah Pittard

Thursday, June 25
🎤Characters That Carry the Story
with Lev Grossman & Jade Chang

🎤Revision is Writing: Where the Work Becomes the Work
with Brian Broome, Christopher Castellani & Hannah Pittard
Moderated by Adrienne Brodeur

📍 All panels and craft talks take place on the rooftop deck at The Viewline Resort in Snowmass Village.

BIG book birthday energy today! Three Aspen Literary Festival speakers are celebrating major new releases this week:

Fonda Lee returns with THE LAST CONTRACT OF ISAKO
“A gorgeously crafted world.” — Publishers Weekly
Epic fantasy, breathtaking worldbuilding, unforgettable stakes.

Christina Baker Kline releases THE FOURSOME today
A bold reimagining inspired by the astonishing true story of Chang and Eng Bunker.
Jess Walter calls it: “A triumph of empathy and imagination.”

Veronica Roth launches SEEK THE TRAITOR’S SON — the first novel in her new Burning Empire series
According to John Scalzi: “Roth reaches for epic, and grabs it beautifully.”

Fantasy, historical fiction, or epic sci-fi...Which one are you picking up first?

At the end of an evening full of toasts, laughter, and brilliant one-liners, Aspen Words awarded its ninth annual Literary Prize to Maria Reva , author of ENDLING.

During her acceptance remarks, Reva said, “as I was writing my book, I was thinking a lot about why fiction matters and why art matters, right now? And it’s something I’m still grappling with the answer to…but when I went back to Ukraine a year into the full-scale invasion, to see family and conduct research for my book, theatres were full of people…Opera houses were full, people were going to art galleries. People were making art. So that was in itself proof that art is something that sustains us in the best and worst times!”

See her full acceptance speech and enjoy a 40-minute conversation with 2026 finalists moderated by Elisabeth Egan (New York Times Book Review) at the link in our bio.

🏆 ENDLING by Maria Reva () is the 2026 winner!! 🥇 Announced April 23 during a live ceremony at in New York.

ENDLING is a darkly comedic novel that explores survival, love and hope in times of encroaching darkness.  

The 2026 AWLP jury stated: “Endling” is an audacious novel about people fighting many different kinds of extinction. Part metafiction, part war chronicle, part absurdist picaresque, Maria Reva’s book begins with an ecological adventure in pre-war Ukraine involving, of all things, a critically endangered snail species. But the tale soon takes on metafictional twists and turns as real-life Russian tanks and soldiers invade the country. “Endling” becomes a story about women scrambling to save themselves, their families and their country—while also growing into a joyful and astonishing celebration of the novel itself, a literary form given new life and urgency by this groundbreaking, utterly unique work. 

Congratulations to Maria and her team!! 👏🏽🎉

So many book birthdays 🎉 , so little shelf space 📚...Celebrating a handful of our Aspen Literary Festival authors whose newest releases are making waves!

Maria Semple () returns with GO GENTLE — out today! A vibrant, life-affirming novel from the bestselling author of WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE.

Kate Bowler’s () JOYFUL ANYWAY (published in March) offers a profound, funny, and deeply human case for joy that doesn’t depend on everything getting better.

Tayari Jones’ () gorgeous new novel KIN (published in February), a recent Oprah’s Book Club selection, garnered acclaim as a true triumph from the queen herself: “. . .Kin is a masterpiece of a novel that will live with you long after you turn the last page.” — Oprah Winfrey

Poet, educator, producer, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander () released THE MIGHTY MACY (in February), a children’s chapter book about a young girl finding her voice and discovering the power of speaking up for herself and her community.

Memoirist turned novelest, Jennett McCurdy () released HALF HIS AGE (this January) - and the conversation has not let up! “McCurdy is a fearless and darkly funny writer with an unerring eye for the perfect mortifying detail.”— Tom Perrotta

Congratulations to all of these brilliant writers! We’re counting down the days until we get to hear from them this September!

Which of these is on your reading list?

Congratulations to the five finalists for the 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize. These remarkable novels confront some of the most urgent issues shaping our world today.

The $35,000 award honors fiction that tackles pressing social challenges with courage, insight, and unforgettable storytelling. Each of these finalists demonstrates how literature sparks dialogue, deepens empathy, and inspires change.

Join us in celebrating these outstanding writers and their powerful work!

📙 “The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother)” by Rabih Alameddine (Grove Press)

📘 “Intemperance” by Sonora Jha (HarperVia Books)

📗 “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy (Flatiron Books)

📕 “Endling” by Maria Reva (Doubleday Books)

📙 “So Far Gone” by Jess Walter (Harper Books)



The winner will be announced April 23, 2026. Register today at aspenwords.org to watch the livestream announcement and a conversation with the finalists, moderated by The New York Times Book Review writer and editor, Elisabeth Egan.





For more information check out: https://www.aspenwords.org/literary-prize/

We’re proud to spotlight local author Catherine O'Connell and her thrilling new novel "STEEP AND DEEP: An Aspen Mystery"! Learn more at her Explore Books talk tomorrow, Thursday, Feb 19!

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cathy-oconnell-at-explore-books-steep-and-deep-tickets-1981814765312