Taipei:The 2026 Taiwan Writers Festival will convene authors and translators from several countries, including the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Finland, and Poland, to engage with Taiwanese writers. The event organizers made this announcement on Thursday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the festival will take place from November 6 to 22, featuring sessions that explore how literature reflects on the past and addresses contemporary issues related to technology, the environment, and social change. Yen Hung-ya, the festival's curator, expressed hopes that interactions among creators from diverse cultural backgrounds and creative approaches will foster new possibilities for discussion and reflection.

The National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NMTL), which is organizing the festival, noted that U.S. author Barbara Demick is among the international guests. Demick's book "Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea" won the United Kingdom's prestigious nonfiction award, the Baillie Gifford Prize, in 2010.

Demick is scheduled to participate in a panel alongside China-born journalist Annie Zhang and acclaimed Taiwanese journalist Jason Liu. The panel will delve into how writers handle themes of power, crises, and truth in their work. Zhang, known for her coverage of pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong, is currently based in Taipei.

The NMTL initiated the Taiwan Writers Festival last year with the intention of creating a platform for conversation and envisioning the future. This year's festival will include performances that blend various art forms, as well as talks and film screenings. Some events will require tickets, while others will be free to attend, with activities planned in venues across Taipei and Tainan.