Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Search

literature

Jamil Jan Kochai Writes to Preserve Stories that Might Otherwise be Lost to Time

Angie Cruz Addresses Anti-Immigrant and Anti-Gay Rhetoric Head-On in Her Most Recent Novel

Oscar Hokeah Writes to Better Understand Himself and the People Around Him

Talia Lakshmi Kolluri Wants to Bring Your Attention to Nature

Her short story collection What We Fed to the Manticore is narrated from animal perspectives.

Fatimah Asghar Is Rewriting the Orphan Narrative

Her novel “When We Were Sisters” traces the bond of three siblings who are left to raise one another after their parents die.

Reading Is an Exercise in Building Empathy

A member of the Aspen Words Literary Prize jury reflects on the power of the written word.

Tahmima Anam Asks if Technology Can Disrupt Love

Her novel The Startup Wife is a nominee for the Aspen Words Literary Prize.

Peter Ho Davies on How Shame Makes Us Human

His new novel A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself is nominated for the Aspen Words Literary Prize.

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers on Centering Black and Indigenous Stories in History

Her first novel, The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, is a nominee for the Aspen Words Literary Prize.

Announcing the Longlist for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize

Open to authors of any nationality, the award is one of the few focused exclusively on fiction with a social impact.