The Plague Novel- Before and After the Pandemic

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

By heightening narrative stakes to the absolute world-encompassing max, apocalyptic storytelling can lucidly reveal the forces that shape our society—and make it vulnerable to various forms of collapse. After the recent (and ongoing) upheavals of COVID-19, it’s impossible not to read the genre differently. This panel brings together novelists who published books about global devastation both before and after the pandemic, from stories that seemed curiously to predict it, to those that offer explicit commentary on the ways it changed our lives. Join novelists Gary Shteyngart (Our Country Friends), Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Turning Leaves), Peng Shepherd (The Book of M), and moderator Weike Wang (Joan is Okay) to discuss the evolving, bizarre, and culturally specific ways we tell the story of the end of the world.

The 2024 PEN World Voices Festival, the 20th anniversary of the festival, will be a celebration of world literature and free expression. Over four days, over 100 writers from nearly 30 countries will be featured in engaging talks, panels, readings, and performances in New York City and greater Los Angeles.

Visit for more information about the entire festival, as well as PEN America.

The venue is accessibile via elevators that are at the entrance around the corner on 243 Thompson St.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our Box Office team at [email protected] by April 21st 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]

While not required, per public health official guidelines, the World Voices Festival recommends being fully vaccinated, and wearing masks in all public indoor settings as a precaution against the spread of Covid-19, as well as around crowds.

If you are feeling unwell, please do not come to the event. Reach out to [email protected] for assistance if you have already purchased a ticket.

We thank you for ensuring our speakers, guests and venue workers feel safe and comfortable at all World Voices Festival events. If you have questions or concerns please contact [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, New York, United States