Global literati dined on Rioja and tapas in the sunny patio of the Instituto Cervantes this afternoon, celebrating the launch of the PEN World Voices Festival.

In this GalleyCat video, festival chair Salman Rushdie at once praised Americans for new political openness while criticizing our "paucity" of translated works. Running from April 27 until May 3, the New York City festival will feature 160 writers from 40 different countries.

Some of the marquee names participating in the festival include: Neil Gaiman, Parker Posey, Lou Reed, and Laurie Anderson. It is the fifth anniversary of the literary festival. In all, there are 60 events--the complete schedule can be found here.