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Featuring Author George Saunders

George Saunders is one of America’s most unique and influential writers, or in the parlance of now, a “writer’s writer.” His highly anticipated second novel, “Vigil,” published in January 2026, relates the bedside conversation between a dying oil company CEO and his angelic guide as he is ushered from our world to the next. “Vigil” confronts the value of a life well-lived, the philosophical question of regret and the consequences, environmental and cultural, of a single individual. “Vigil” presents a case study in questions of ethics, memory, and responsibility, and it seemed  an appropriate choice for the most storied book club on campus.

During the Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar, Saunders will address us on writing, responsibility, and ethics on Friday night and then will be with us for a delightful reception and dinner. On Saturday morning, we will hear from professors handpicked by the faculty and the Mudd Center to discuss “Vigil” from different perspectives. We will then have a chance to hear Saunders respond to our W&L scholars in a Q&A, panel discussion, and lunch. The 2026 Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar is sure to be one for the ages as we get to hear from one of the most exciting, forward-thinking, and brilliant writers of this generation.

Sponsored by the Class of 1951 in honor of classmate Tom Wolfe ’51, the Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar continues to cement a rich tradition in its 21st year. Each year, the program invites a writer who exemplifies Wolfe’s tradition of careful elocution and observation of America, its people, its institutions, and its ideas. This year, the Tom Wolfe Weekend Seminar will join forces with the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics, which was established through a gift by Wolfe’s contemporary Roger Mudd ’50. Our offices will join forces to bring to you a captivating discussion of ethics, writing, and responsibility through the prism of George Saunders’s “Vigil." 

Program Cost: $275 per person