The event will feature a lively reception and delicious multi-course dinner, an engaging program featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Feeding Ghosts & official SAL Doodler Tessa Hulls and Youth Poetry Fellowship cohort member Adisa Grant; and live and silent auctions of unique literary experiences.
5:30 | Reception & check-in
Blind Date with a Book
Libre Libations
Complimentary Photo Studio
7:00 | Dinner & program
Welcome & Thanks
State of SAL with Rebecca Hoogs
Keynote with Tessa Hulls, author of Feeding Ghosts
Youth Poetry Reading with Adisa Grant
Live Auction
Raise the Paddle
Dessert Dash
with Sasha Summer Cousineau, Auctioneer/Emcee
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REGISTRATION
Registration opens October 31, 2025.
We will be offering tickets on a tiered level. We ask that you purchase a ticket at the level in alignment with your financial capacity. The fair market value of the goods and services provided at each ticket level is $100 per ticket, which covers venue and meal costs. All additional costs are a charitable contribution to help support more accessible events and are tax deductible by law. As we work to make our organization and fundraising practices more equitable, we are experimenting with new ways to reach our community and gather support for the programs you know and love. Thank you for your support!
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SILENT AUCTION
Our 2026 SAL Gala Silent Auction will be open for bidding from Monday, March 16, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. to Monday, March 23, 2026 at 9:00 p.m.
Bid on irresistible literary delights, whether you’re attending the gala in-person or supporting SAL from wherever you are.
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SPONSOR THE 2026 SAL GALA
As a SAL Gala sponsor, your company will enjoy visibility with SAL’s 45,000 patrons—including 500+ business and philanthropic leaders at our fundraiser. Sponsorships provide the unique opportunity to connect with SAL’s community, in one of the top literary cities in the world, and to show your support of the literary arts and youth writing.
For more information about sponsorships, contact Corporate & Foundation Relations Manager, Inez Maubane Jones, at imjones@lectures.org.
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2026 WORDS BLOOM COMMITTEE
Dana Bettinger, Co-Chair
Brooke Williams, Co-Chair
Debra D. Dahlen | Grace Doyle | Sunny Hong
Susan Long-Walsh | Anne-Phyfe Palmer | Jane Park
Heather Pogue | Naria Santa Lucia | Chris Schluep
Padmaja Vrudhula | Megan Watts
