Whose Truth? Writers and Readers Forum

About this event

In an era shaped by artificial intelligence, contested truths, and information overload, Whose Truth? Writers and Readers Forum brings together leading voices to explore how writers responsibly tell stories about real people and events. Co-organized by The Authors Guild Foundation, panelists will examine the ethics and craft of memoir, biography, narrative history, and fiction — and how memory, research, interpretation, and imagination shape what we call truth. The Whose Truth? Forum includes three panel discussions followed by a festive Meet-the-Authors reception on The Mount’s Terrace. Join us! TICKETS are available for both the full conference and individual panel discussions. Please note: access to the Meet-the-Authors reception is included exclusively with the full conference ticket. SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE: 1:00 PM | Session One: Approaching History Historical storytelling can illuminate the past — but it can also reshape it through creative interpretation, characterization, and selective detail. Historian David W. Blight will be joined in conversation by historian and former journalist David Conrad-Pérez, moderated by Holly Jackson, PhD, on where imagination ends and historical responsibility begins. 2:30 pm | Session Two: Writing About Real People Writing about real lives requires imagination, research, and restraint. Novelist and biographer Michelle Young, novelist Gish Jen, and media attorney Nancy Wolff will discuss how biographers portray difficult truths about complicated, flawed individuals without veering into harm, caricature, or defamation. Moderated by Joe Donahue, WAMC. 4:00 pm | Session Three: Authorship in the Age of AI From the writer’s desk to the reader’s hands, artificial intelligence is reshaping how stories and ideas are produced, circulated, and trusted. Writers Jia Tolentino and Maris Kreizman will explore how AI is changing the ways writers write and readers read, moderated by Mary Rasenberger. 5:30 pm | Meet-the-Authors…