CAMDEN — The 2013 Camden Conference topic will be "The Middle East: What Next" and the keynote speaker Friday evening will be Robin Wright, who has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, New York Times magazine, Time, The Atlantic, The Sunday Times (London), CBS News, Foreign Affairs, and many others.

This year's conference will strive, with its roster of acknowledged experts-focusing on the key countries of the Middle East- to provide historical analysis with current insights, giving participants a firmer understanding of the elements that will influence the future. The 2013 conference will feature a line-up of respected speakers, many of whom are appearing regularly on today's news shows and commentary.

Wright's foreign tours have included the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, as well as several years as a roving foreign correspondent. She has covered a dozen wars and several revolutions. In addition to a long career in journalism, Wright has been a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, at Yale, Duke, Stanford, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Southern California. She holds a joint appointment as a U.S. Institute of Peace senior fellow and Wilson Center distinguished scholar, during which she has produced three books: "The Iran Primer: Power, Politics, and U.S. Policy" (2010), "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World" (2011), and "The Islamists Are Coming: Who They Really Are" (2012).

The 26th annual Camden Conference takes place Feb. 22-24, 2013, live at the Camden Opera House and simulcast to satellite venues, including the Strand Theatre in Rockland, the Hutchinson Center in Belfast and the Grand in Ellsworth. Tickets for the February weekend will go on sale to Camden Conference members Nov. 5 and to the general public Nov. 26.

For more information, visit www.camdenconference.org or call 207-236-1034.