Political Fables

All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable. Please confirm the time and location of your event before finalizing your purchase.

In the tradition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm and 1984, writers use political fables to question power, dominant ideologies, and inequities. By twisting reality into fable, novelists hold up an all-too-accurate mirror to our world.

Set in an unnamed country, George Packer’s The Emergency imagines the aftermath of an empire’s collapse as society breaks down across class and generational divides. Hungarian novelist Krisztina Tóth’s dystopian Eye of the Monkey (tr. by Ottilie Mulzet) begins in the wake of a devastating civil war where citizens are under constant surveillance. In Dealing with the Dead (tr. by Helen Stevenson), Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou uses the form of a ghost story to deliver a biting satire of corruption and political violence.

In a conversation with Atlantic staff writer Gal Beckerman (How to Be a Dissident), these authors will discuss their new novels and what they reveal about political realities across the globe.

The 2026 PEN World Voices Festival is a celebration of world literature and free expression. The 2026 edition will be the 21st World Voices Festival. Over four days, over 140 writers from over 40 countries will be featured in engaging talks, panels, readings, and activations in New York City and greater Los Angeles.

NYU Global Center -C95 Lacture Hall is ADA compliant.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our Box Office team at [email protected] by April 15th to request.

Please ask a Box Office Attendant or festival representative upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact [email protected]

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher PEN America