AG Literary Events
Sunday, October 4, 2026
1:00 pm-7:00 pm Eastern
The Mount, 2 Plunkett Street, Lenox, Massachusetts
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 Mount, Edith Wharton Cultural Center and 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!
Discounted member tickets are available for Authors Guild members and members of The Mount, for both the full conference and individual panel discussions.
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, and author Michelle Young, 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. Journalist and biographer Martha Ackmann, 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 Reception
Mingle with the day’s featured authors at this exclusive reception on The Mount’s Terrace, where you can enjoy seasonal refreshments and continued conversation.
