Albany Book Festival: Photos and recap
By Emme Weed, NYS Writers Institute intern
(Most photos taken by Patrick Dodson / UAlbany)
More than 1,000 book lovers of all ages attended the Albany Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Local families, students, professors and community members all came together to share their love of reading and writing. The constant drizzle did not deter book lovers from attending the annual September event to celebrate literature. Sheltered in UAlbany’s Campus Center from the gloomy weather, visitors enjoyed a cozy atmosphere filled with books, conversations and literary discoveries.
“We’re grateful to everyone who joined us for another terrific Albany Book Festival, including our featured authors, local writers, volunteers, students, exhibitors and community partners,” said Paul Grondahl, Opalka Endowed Director of the New York State Writers Institute. “It was wonderful to see so many people come together at UAlbany to celebrate books, writers and the joy of reading.”
The festival’s 18 events, including panel discussions and author talks, took place in six different Campus Center venues. The Campus Center Ballroom was buzzing with activity all day, with more than 60 local authors, publishers and exhibitors meeting attendees.
Aiva Oliver, a freshman studying criminal justice, attended the panel discussion with authors Carol Gilligan and Gish Jen. “I liked the discussion and how they talked about their writing,” said Oliver. “I thought it was really important that they said writers always talk about ‘finding their voice’ when really, they just have to learn how to use their own.”
Eva Lesko Natiello, a UAlbany alumna, returned to campus to discuss her new novel, The Dog Sitter. Natiello wrote on Facebook, “I was in spectacular company in conversation with Rebecca Van Laer talking about her book Cat, moderated by (huge cat fan) Rae Muhlstock. It was enormous fun.”
Natiello added, “I took a nostalgic walk through campus, stopping at Anthony Hall on State Quad, where I spent my freshman year. I had to drive by my junior/senior year off-campus house and had a rush of memories, especially looking up to the second-floor porch and swore I could hear Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” wafting through. Back to school took on a whole new meaning this weekend! All the feels—thank you University at Albany!”
Everett Arber, a freshman majoring in nursing, said he had never attended a book festival before Saturday, but enjoyed the “Thrillers” panel with Jack Katzenbach, author of more than 15 novels including the new thriller The Architect, and debut novelist Canwen Xu, author of Boring Asian Female. “As someone who has never seen this side of how books come to be, I thought it was very interesting,” said Arber. "I was especially interested in how different the publishing experiences were for Jack and Canwen.”