Mark Twain House and Museum Announce 2021 Virtual Gala MARK TWAIN AROUND THE WORLD

The Mark Twain House & Museum announced today the complete lineup of celebrity guests for its 2021 Virtual Gala to be held Thursday, November 4 at 7 pm EDT. The event, themed Mark Twain Around the World, will celebrate the global travels of Samuel Clemens, his popular travel writings, and, of course, his iconic Hartford home and its international touches.

The hour-long virtual broadcast, live from The Mark Twain House, will be hosted by New York Times critic and Commonweal contributor Rand Richards Cooper, who also serves as gala co-chair with Julie Zyla.

The star-studded lineup of celebrity guests includes David Baldacci, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Gambling Man and Walk the Wire; Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians and Sex and Vanity; Brad Meltzer, author of The First Conspiracy, Host of Decoded, and the I Am... Children's Series; Nelson Demille, author of The Cuban Affair & The Panther; John R. MacArthur, Journalist and President of Harper's Magazine; Azar Nafisi, author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Republic of Imagination; Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, creators of the Agent Pendergast Series including Bloodless and The Scorpion's Tail; Jill Sobule, Singer-Songwriter of "I Kissed a Girl" and "Supermodel"; Adriana Trigiani, author of Big Stone Gap and The Shoemaker's Wife; Scott Turow, author of The Last Trial, Testimony, and Presumed Innocent; Larry Wilmore, "Senior Black Correspondent" for The Daily Show, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, and co-producer of Black-ish; and Roy Wood, Jr., Comedian, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Correspondent, Comedy Central Stand-Up Specials.

The event will also include an online auction filled with one-of-a-kind items and exclusive experiences, a special look at items in the museum's collection, and more.

The 2021 Virtual Gala, The Mark Twain House & Museum's largest annual fundraiser, offers four ticket tiers: VIP Passage, which includes a delivered Captains Box filled with surprises for a $175 dollar donation; Promenade Passage for a $125 donation; Day Passenger for a $50 donation; and Stowaway Passage, which allows for free viewing at no charge. For more information and registration, visit marktwainhouse.org/gala.

The event's Globetrotter Sponsors are Webster Bank, Stanley Black & Decker, and Landmark Partners, an Ares Company. Expedition Sponsors are Grunberg Management, The Hartford, Travelers, and HCL Technologies. Port of Call Sponsors are Central Connecticut State University, CliftonLarsonAllen, Liberty Bank, and Reid & Riege. Passport Sponsors are Cooperative Systems, KPMG, Lindberg & Ripple, Robinson + Cole, Smith Brothers Insurance, Talcott Resolution Life Insurance Company, and Wise Old Dog. Sightseer Sponsors are Environmental Systems Corporation, Ken and Judy Sternad, and Julie Zyla and Michael Bednarz.

The mission of The Mark Twain House & Museum: Mark Twain changed the way the world sees America and the way Americans see themselves. We carry on this legacy to foster an appreciation of Twain as one of our nation's defining cultural figures, and to demonstrate the continuing relevance of his work, life, and times.

The Mark Twain House & Museum has restored the author's historic Hartford, Connecticut home, built in 1874, where the author and his family lived for 17 years. It was here that Twain wrote his most important works, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. In addition to providing tours of Twain's restored home, a National Historic Landmark, we offer educational and public programs that encourage critical thinking and foster literacy, humanity, and social justice.

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