"It's strange to be at the Beatrice Inn before 2 A.M.," joked literati luminary Jay McInerney. "I actually broke my foot the last time I was here trying to negotiate the curb on my way out."

One hundred percent healthy and in good form, McInerney was back at the Village watering hole to preview the Chelsea, a boutique hotel in Atlantic City set to open its doors this summer. He, along with The O.C. and Gossip Girls creator Josh Schwartz and Curtis Bashaw (left) of Cape Advisors (the real estate investment firm behind the endeavor and hosting the fete), mixed it up with media moguls and NYC movers and shakers alike.

In the back room, a Charlotte Gainsbourg-look-alike DJ worked the turntables while grooving to the music. Oldies But Goodies like Tom Petty's "Don't Do Me Like That" oozed out of the speakers, summoning nostalgia for carefree summers past, and I settled into a banquette to survey the scene, including host Paul Sevigny and Nicole Miller (right) - and partake in the spoonfuls of spicy Alaskan crab and yellowtail pastrami being purveyed.

On my way out, I stopped for a few closing words with the holy trinity while they debated where to head next. I asked McInerney, "Will AC ever really be hip and cool again?" (The Chelsea hopes to infuse America's playground with a sexy refinement and Hollywood glamour not seen since the Rat Pack.) "Maybe?" he responded, with a sly grin. "What about Paris Commune?" Bashaw interrupted - eager to solidify a post-party dinner spot. Schwartz turned to me quizzically, asking, "So is it your job to go out and cover parties?" I nodded. "Well," he retorted, "maybe we should just follow in your wake." I wish.

There was a second Salman Rushdie (left with Caro Llewyn) SCENE sighting this week, this one uptown at the French Embassy. Full disclosure reveals there will surely be more in coming days, as he is the chair of PEN World Voices: The New York Festival of International Literature, now in its fourth year.

Last night was the opening cocktail party for the six days of debate, discussion, and debauchery (I'm joking on the last). PEN's mission to champion and defend freedom of expression is a worthy pursuit, especially as the written word continues to evolve in new media. (Example 1: Web sites, like this one).

And so, the likes of Ian McEwan (author of Atonement), Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain) and Michael Ondaatje(The English Patient) all came to fete the beginning of the festival. I mention the respective titles of these books adapted into films as a means of identification and - to my earlier point - belie the broad appeal of literary works.

Also on hand were Francine Prose and Patti Smith. In between congratulations and adorations, Edmund White (right with Jérome Neutres, Bernard-Henri Levy, and Kareen Rispal) reminisced about an interview he conducted at the Crillon for a Vogue story, as Francine du Plessix Gray stood nearby. It was then off to the Alliance Francaise for one of the first major events of the festival - a conversation on Darfur between Mia Farrow and Bernard-Henri Levy.

Visit pen.org for festival information.