BY KAREN BOSSICK
Individual Pavilion tickets for the 2026 Sun Valley Writers Conference will go on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, at https://svwc.com/pavilion-pass.
The lineup will be posted when passes go on sale for the conference, which will be held July 18-20 at Sun Valley Resort. This year’s Pavilion speakers include Robert MacFarlane on Saturday. That evening Ken Burns will be presented the 2026 Writer in the World award on Saturday night in the Pavilion. He will then discuss his career with Rick Atkinson.
On Sunday Atul Gawande will discuss “The Global Health Crisis” while a panel discussion takes on “The President’s Power” and Michael Pollan has a conversation with John Burnham Schwartz about “The World Appears.” That will be followed by Amor Towles and Jeffrey Brown’s conversation about “The Consummate Storyteller.”
Richard Osmon will discuss “The Thursday Murder Club” on Monday just before a performance from “All In.” The conference will conclude by with Rick Atkinson’s take on “The Momentous Fight for American Independence.”
Full Conference Passes for the 2026 conference sold out quickly following unprecedented demand. Thousands of readers entered a lottery to purchase passes for a venue that can accommodate just 1,550 guests.
Single-event Pavilion tickets were introduced in 2009. The passes provide attendees a seat at some of the most anticipated conversations of the summer without requiring a Full Conference Pass to the Writers’ Conference.
Passes range from $50 for a single talk to $100 for a curated two-talk package. They include audience Q&As and book signings.
“Community access has become an increasingly important part of our mission,” said SVWC Marketing & Communications Manager Kate Elgee Haase. “The Pavilion Pass program allows more people to experience the energy, inspiration and exchange of ideas that define the Conference weekend, and we’re incredibly grateful to the donors who make that possible.”
Live Watch Party passes, will go on sale June 23. They cost $25 per day and entitle readers to watch Pavilion talks from the comfort of the air-conditioned Argyros Center for the Performing Arts in Ketchum. Typically, those at The Argyros have the benefit of some surprise guests, as well.
The Writers’ Conference also opens the Pavilion Lawn for free community seating for some presentations. and it partners with The Community Library to offer free library talks. This year’s talks feature Julian Brave NoiseCat of “Sugarcane” fame on July 15 and Virginia Evans, author of “The Correspondent,” on July 21. Waiting lists are available at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/15222114 for NoiseCat and at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/16627235 for Evans.
The presentations will be livestreamed, if the authors are amenable to that.
Additionally, archival recordings of many of the authors’ presentations are made available in a free online digital media library https://svwc.com/.