About us — WoW Gstaad

LETTER OF FOUNDER

When I founded World of Words, Gstaad's literature festival, in 2020 my hope was that it would one day become as permanent and regular a fixture in the cultural calendar of the Saanenland as are the Menuhin Festival, the Polo, the Tennis, Country Night and all the other wonderful events we enjoy in the region. On the last weekend of June 2022 we took one step closer to achieving that goal with the resoundingly successful second annual WoW Gstaad: International Literature Symposium. Moreover, we added a mini version of WoW on January 28th of this year with the excellent Andrea Marcolongo as our sole speaker at the very successful event, which tool place at the Alpina Hotel.

Words matter, and every so often the world needs to be reminded of the influence they have on our lives, the crucial role literature - in all its forms - still plays in modern society, and the importance of literacy. With the establishment of WoW Gstaad my aim is to provoke thought, to share discussions with the world, and to donate funds raised to charitable organisations for education, for public-access libraries, and for new writer grants. We all - organisers, donors, sponsors, ticket buyers, presenters - can play our part in improving the world around us.

Gstaad may be a small village but it has a far-reaching voice. For many years, the village, with its warm and welcoming locals, has hosted visitors from around the world, including luminaries in the fields of cinema, art, music, sport, and literature. Those visitors, along with holiday regulars are Gstaad’s ambassadors and supporters. The village is no stranger to hosting cultural events so building a permanent literary presence to the cultural landscape of the Saanenland is a natural next step.

This year the participating authors were: Louis de Bernieres, Frederic Beigbeder, Martin Suter, Lea Carpenter, Elisa Shua Dusapin, Aneesa Higgins, and Eliot Ackerman. Consistent with the unique format of WoW Gstaad, the weekend was an interactive and intimate mix of on-stage discussions, shared meals, and walking tours as well as an aperitif at the fabulous new Librairie des Alpages, recently established in Saanen by Vera Michalski.

Finally, I would be remiss not to note that none of this would be possible without my fellow board members, Dennis Paul and Kyra Dupont-Troubetzkoy, nor without our tireless event organiser Yoanna Schley and of course our treasured, founding and anchor supporter, the Fondation Jan Michalski.

Thank you all for believing in us and supporting WoW Gstaad.

World of Words, Gstaad’s literature festival, is here to stay, to grow, and above all to support literature, education, and our heavenly region.

Thomas D. Alexandrou - Gommes

Founder & Literary Director

Born in London of a French father and a Greek mother, Thomas completed his B.A. degree in History, his J.D. degree in Law, and his Master’s degree in Journalism, all at Columbia University in the City of New York. After qualifying as a lawyer in New York and in London, he practiced corporate law for 15 years before moving in 2017 to live in the Saaneland region and pursue his lifelong passion to become a full-time writer. Thomas is currently working on two collections of short stories and building the World of Words, Gstaad literature festival, into a permanent fixture in the international literary calendar for the benefit, preservation and encouragement of writing, writers and readers.

Kyra Dupont Troubetzkoy

born in 1971 in Geneva, holds a double master's degree in International Relations from The Graduate Institute, Geneva and Journalism from City University, London. Her attraction to humanitarian and environmental causes led her to Cambodia as a senior reporter in 1996; producer for the correspondent of CNBS Asia, she directed, among other things, a feature-length documentary, As long as There is Paper, in 2000. After numerous collaborations in the written press, radio and television in France, the United States, and Switzerland, she took the lead on the International Section of daily paper 24 Heures. In 2007, she embarked on full-time writing and published several works including her fifth novel, "L’envol des milans » and « Geneva, at the Heart of the World" for Assouline, both released in November 2021. She also works as a freelance journalist and is on the committee of J’aime ma planète, an association dedicated to sustainable development and the environment. She is also a freelance journalist for Heidi.news and Geneva Solutions.

Dennis Paul

Dennis is a Senior Advisor at The Blackstone Group. He is also the Founder and Managing Member of Thyra Global, a boutique private equity and venture capital firm. Dennis holds a BA from Columbia University, New York. He is a Trustee of the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, where he serves on the Executive Committee. He is Co-Founder of both the educational non-profit, REACT to FILM, and the for-profit production company React Films which has produced award-winning films and television series such as 100 Foot Wave (HBO), The Workers Cup (Passion River), Slay the Dragon (Magnolia Pictures), and The Story of Plastic (Discovery Networks).