Spring in New York means cherry blossoms, long walks on the High Line, and the PEN World Voices Festival. A staple of the New York literary scene, the festival invites 150 distinguished writers from over 30 countries to put aside differences of language and share the common love of words.

Among the esteemed roster of guests, French Morning is particularly excited to receive Andreï Makine. Russian by birth, Makine is one of few non-native writers to be awarded France’s highest literary honor: election to the Académie française. He previously broke records by receiving both the Prix Medicis and the Prix Goncourt for his 1995 novel Dreams of my Russian Summers. Makine also published four best-selling novels under the pseudonym “Gabriel Osmonde”.

Catch Andreï Makine on Thursday April 28th at 6.30PM at the perennial favorite Literary Quest, held at Westbeth Center for the Arts.

Makine later joins Israeli novelist Dalia Betolin-Sherman and Turkish writer Burhan Sönmez in a dialogue about writing from a bi-cultural perspective. This panel takes place on Friday April 29th at 6.30PM

French Morning also looks forward to hearing from Makine’s American publisher, Jeannette Seaver.  After a career as a violinist, Seaver co-founded Arcade Publishing with her husband. Arcade Publishing is responsible for introducing American readers to international literary giants, including the Nobel-prize winners Octavio Paz and Mo Yan.

Visit here to view the complete schedule and list of events, and to purchase tickets.