From April 25 to May 1, more than 100 writers from around the world gathered in New York City for the PEN American Center’s World Voices festival. The annual event promotes international literature through a week-long series of panel discussions, readings and performances, which took place at the Standard Hotel along New York’s High Line park this year. Photographer Peter Hapak photographed 13 of those authors for TIME, including Jonathan Franzen, Salman Rushie and Deborah Eisenberg. The intimate portraits were included in a summer books special from the magazine’s July 11 issue, in which world-renowned authors told TIME which titles they planned to read this summer.

As for the photographer himself? Hapak plans to spend some time this summer with Martin Gayford’s book Man with a Blue Scarf.

— Feifei Sun