For the first time since 2019, WWB is hosting an in-person gala! After two years of virtual events, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to gather in NYC with our friends and supporters to celebrate the power of international literature. This year’s gala also comes at a very special time: following the launch of WWB’s new website and brand, it will also kick off its twentieth anniversary year.

The annual WWB gala is the international literary party of the season, featuring a lively pre-dinner cocktail, moving multilingual readings, and a delicious dinner in the company of our exciting literary hosts. Isabel Allende will serve as the gala’s honorary chair, and Merve Emre will host the event.

The 2022 Words Without Borders gala literary hosts:

Esther Allen
Writer and translator of José Martí: Selected Writings

Susan Bernofsky
Writer and translator of Robert Walser’s Looking at Pictures

Vanessa Chan
Author of the forthcoming The Storm We Made

C. K. Chau
Author of the forthcoming Good Fortune

Rivka Galchen
Author of Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch

Kaiama Glover
Translator and author of Haiti Unbound

Ann Goldstein
Translator of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels

Josh Gondelman
Comedy writer and author of Nice Try

Daniel Hahn
Author and translator of José Eduardo Agualusa’s A General Theory of Oblivion

Yuri Herrera
Author of Signs Preceding the End of the World

Zain Khalid
Author of Brother Alive

Maris Kreizman
Author of the forthcoming I Want to Burn This Place Down

Megha Majumdar
Author of A Burning

Idra Novey
Translator and author of Those Who Knew

Nadia Owusu
Author of Aftershocks

Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Author of American Estrangement

Pitchaya Sudbanthad
Author of Bangkok Wakes to Rain

Jeremy Tiang
Translator and author of State of Emergency

Kirmen Uribe
Author of Bilbao New York Bilbao

With special thanks to the supporters of the WWB gala:

Champions:
Amazon Crossing
Apple Books
Bloomsbury Publishing
Curtis Brown and United Talent Agency
Goodreads
HarperCollins Publishers
Ingram Content Group
Irwin & Hsuan LLP
Klopotek
London Literary Scouting
Macmillan
Maria B. Campbell Associates
Open Road Integrated Media
Other Press
Penguin Random House
Scribd
Spotify

Host Committee:
Isabel Allende, Honorary Chair
Chantal Restivo-Alessi, Gala Chair
Tara Parsons, Vice Chair
Amy and Peter Bernstein
Richard d’Albert and Catherine Greenman
Abe Hsuan
Jenny Staff Johnson
Sarah Salih von Maltzahn 
Alane Salierno Mason
Jennifer Moross
Jim Ottaway, Jr.
Kalpana Raina
Jennifer Ayer Sandell
Samantha Schnee
Jonathan Schorr
Rebecca Servadio
Margo and Anthony Viscusi
Andrew Weinstein