One of the most revered events across the publishing industry is the New Yorker Festival, an annual event that attracts 20,000 people, among them icons in arts, culture and politics, from Lena Dunham to Edward Snowden (who was interviewed virtually). The festival was created before Hughes’ stint at the New Yorker began, but she said she made the event profitable by seeing it as more than a boon for sponsors. It’s also an audience development tool, she said, and was a way for a younger audience to be introduced to the brand.