Creative Writing in the Age of AI Symposium
Saturday, November 7
What is human creativity? What are its core values, and what do we value about it?
Saturday, November 7, 2026
9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford, Connecticut
In Person + Livestream
Presented as part of the 2026 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Weekend.
Press Release: The Mark Twain House & Museum to Host “Creative Writing in the Age of AI” Symposium November 7 - Mark Twain House
What is human creativity?
What are its core values, and what do we value about it?
As generative artificial intelligence becomes increasingly sophisticated, how do we preserve those values, protect creative labor, and promote engagement with the literary arts for all?
Join The Mark Twain House & Museum for Creative Writing in the Age of AI, a day of conversation bringing together writers, editors, scholars, journalists, and educators to explore creativity, authorship, copyright, education, and the future of the written word.
Taking place in the home where Mark Twain created some of the most enduring works in American literature, the symposium continues the Museum's tradition of engaging with questions about creativity, ethics, technology, and what it means to be human.
Featured Participants
Featured Participants
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John Warner
Writer & speaker
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Jeffrey C. Dixon
Professor, College of the Holy Cross
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Damien P. Williams
Assistant Professor, UNC Charlotte
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Bhamati Viswanathan
Visiting Assistant Professor, Suffolk University Law School
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Emily Hockaday
Editor, Asimov’s Science Fiction
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David Baldacci
Novelist
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Ron Charles
Book critic
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Matt Seybold
Associate Professor, Elmira College
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Jane Rosenzweig
Writer & editor
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Lydia Millet
Author and 2026 MTAVL Winner
Schedule
9:30 a.m. - Symposium begins
Morning and afternoon sessions will include:
Frameworks
Authors & Editors
Teaching, Learning & Reading
What Now? What Next?
3 p.m. - Program concludes
The Conversations
Frameworks
How should we understand the philosophical, ethical, and legal questions raised by generative AI?
This conversation will examine intellectual property and copyright law, the use of creative works to train AI systems, the ethical questions surrounding those systems, and the ways artificial intelligence is being presented to and understood by the public.
Featuring: Bhamati Viswanathan, Jeffrey C. Dixon, and Damien P. Williams
Authors & Editors
What happens to creative labor when machines trained on the work of writers, editors, artists, and publishers begin producing creative work at enormous scale?
This conversation will explore the impact of generative AI on authorship, publishing, editing, copyright, and the lives and livelihoods of people who create.
Featuring: David Baldacci, Lydia Millet, and Emily Hockaday
Teaching, Learning & Reading
How is generative AI changing the way we write, teach, learn, and read?
This conversation will explore book criticism, pleasure reading, the teaching of writing, and the growing use of student and teacher data to train AI systems that are then marketed back to educational institutions.
Featuring: Ron Charles, Jane Rosenzweig, and Matt Seybold
Join Us in Hartford or Watch from Anywhere
In Person
Attend the complete symposium at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford.
In-person registration includes lunch, coffee, light snacks, and access to all symposium conversations and Q&A sessions.
Discounted in-person tickets are available for educators and students.
Livestream
Can't join us in Hartford?
Livestream registration includes access to the complete symposium, including participation in Q&A sessions.