The New Yorker Festival was a remarkable event which took place in New York during the first weekend of October. Several writers, such as Anne Carson, Zadie Smith, Jonathan Safran Foer and Michael Chabon, joined in conversation and discussion. Such discussions included Jonah Lehrer, “On the Surprising Benefits of Day Dreaming” and Ian Frazier and David Remnick, “On Russian Mosquitoes”. There was conversation between actors such as Steve Carell and the cast of Saturday Night Live. There were debates on the semantics of “Your Brain on the Internet” led by Jaron Lanier and Nicholson Baker. Yo-Yo Ma and Alex Ross discussed the “role of mentors and the emotional connection between a performer and the audience.” (Elizabeth Minkel – New Yorker)
The Festival was documented online with the help of The New Yorker blogs and twitter. Video clips of discussions and conversations capture the aesthetics of different writers. Such moments like a fragment of Ann Carson’s poem in her translation of Catullus, “So then I grew old, and died, and wrote this. Be careful it is world-sharp” can be found summarized with other “Fine Fragments” recounted via Ian Crouch. 
In the midst of all this, several authors signed their novels at small bookstores such as McNally Jackson in Soho. I met Zadie Smith, the brilliant writer of several novels including White Teeth, swooned over Dave Eggers, a god of the literate world, and chatted with Jonathan Safran Foer. These authors, among others, have written some of the most recognized novels. It was an honor to have the chance to meet them and discuss my own writing endeavors.