NYS Writers Institute presents the Albany Book Festival September 28-29, 2018, at the University at Albany

Ceremony to honor the New York State Author and New York State Poet will kick off the inaugural event, which will bring hundreds of authors to the University at Albany campus

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Doris Kearns Goodwin will be a featured speaker at the Albany Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, at the University at Albany

ALBANY, NY (08/13/2018) (readMedia)-- August 13, 2018 NEWS

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Huber, 518-437-3969 / 518-605-3174

NYS WRITERS INSTITUTE PRESENTS THE INAUGURAL ALBANY BOOK FESTIVAL FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28-29, AT UALBANY

EVENT DETAILS:

The Albany Book Festival, hosted by the NYS Writers Institute at the University at Albany, will be held Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29, on the University's Uptown Campus. The festival, free and open to the public, begins with the installation ceremony honoring the New York State Author and the New York State Poet at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in the Campus Center Ballroom.

Saturday's events -- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at locations throughout the Campus Center -- include panel discussions with dozens of bestselling, prize-winning authors, book sales and signings, a children's and Young Adult slate of events and a special book signing with Writers Institute founder William Kennedy.

Free parking in the Dutch Quad lots is available for the two-day festival.

For additional information and complete schedule of authors and panels, visit albanybookfestival.com

MEDIA RELEASE

Albany, NY – The Albany Book Festival, hosted by the NYS Writers Institute at the University at Albany will be held Friday and Saturday, September 28-29, on the University's Uptown Campus, 1400 Washington Avenue. All events are free and open to the public.

The Albany Book Festival will bring together dozens of acclaimed authors for a series of panel discussions on Saturday, Sept. 29, on a diverse range of genres including mystery, history, memoir, food writing, and a special "New Americans" panel of authors.

Among the authors scheduled to attend are Pulitzer Prize winners Doris Kearns Goodwin, Annette Gordon-Reed (The Hemingses of Monticello), and Gilbert King; bestselling mystery/thriller writers Laura Lippman, Linda Fairstein, Joseph Finder and Walter Mosley (Devil in a Blue Dress); food writer Mark Kurlansky (Milk!); Francis Lam, host of "The Splendid Table"; Jonathan Santlofer (The Widower's Notebook); and Khizr Khan, Gold Star father, 2016 Democratic Convention speaker, and author of An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice.

"Fall book festivals are a mark of vibrant American cities," said Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl, "They underscore a collective commitment to the culture of literacy, the creative imagination, and the value of the literary arts in our lives. We hope to draw thousands of book lovers to the magnificent University at Albany campus and to bring together our students, faculty, staff, and community for a family-friendly event that will appeal to readers of all ages."

The festival begins with a ceremony honoring the New York State Author and the New York State Poet at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in the Campus Center Ballroom. The names of the laureates will be announced shortly in a separate media release from Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The festival continues Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. with a community-building, dynamic dance party with Radha Agrawal, founder of DAYBREAKER and author of Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life, followed by book signing sessions, how-to workshops for aspiring authors on the craft of writing and the changing business of publishing, and areas dedicated to children's literature and Young Adult books.

Bookstores, publishers, literary organizations, and vendors of book-related merchandise will fill numerous display tables and close to 100 local authors will also participate, signing and selling copies of their books.

William Kennedy, founder of the NYS Writers Institute, will be on hand to sign copies of the newly published Bootlegger of the Soul: The Literary Legacy of William Kennedy, a retrospective collection of his long and distinguished career which will includes speeches, a play and a short story by Kennedy, as well as in-depth interviews, reviews and scholarly essays on his work.

A focal point of the Albany Book Festival will be a collaborative Literacy Project to promote reading and literacy among Albany's underserved children that will connect UAlbany with not-for-profit community organizations.

For additional information, visit albanybookfestival.com or contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at nyswritersinstitute.org.

The NYS Writers Institute is honored to recognize those whose donations help fund this inaugural Albany Book Festival. Premier: Times Union, UAlbany Speaker Series; Presenting: Chet & Karen Opalka; Supporting: University Auxiliary Services, Charles Touhey Foundation, Stuyvesant Plaza Inc., Ellen Jabbur; Friend: Mackin & Casey, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti, Fenimore Asset Management, A. Andrew Casano, MD, Foy Fund, and Behan Communications.

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