Times Union: Writers Institute unveils fall season with Peter Wolf, Sam Tanenhaus, more

By Katherine Kiessling,

Staff Writer, Albany Times Union, reprinted with permission

First published August 1, 2025

ALBANY — The New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany has announced its fall season, with thematic threads of war, politics, and artificial intelligence woven throughout the wide-ranging slate of events.

“The world seems like it’s on fire — everyone’s angry and has grievances, there are questions about what is truth,” said Paul Grondahl, the Opalka Endowed Director of the New York State Writers Institute. “We try to respond to both the current zeitgeist and history.”

In the 42-year-old organization’s ongoing efforts to remain relevant, programming continues to expand beyond the literary fiction that dominated its early years, Grondahl said.  This includes ever-widening the genre pool and serving audiences “from 18 to 98.” At the center is the institute’s focus on community building through engaging author conversations, books signing opportunities and more.

“I think there’s a hunger for human connection and community that you don’t get doom scrolling or sitting alone with your device, streaming everything or getting every kind of food and package delivered,” Grondahl said. “There’s a communal aspect to this that we’re trying to build.”

This fall will include trademark Writers Institute events: The Creative Life, a roundtable conversation in collaboration with WAMC, will pair host Joe Donahue with musician Peter Wolf on Sept. 5. The State Author and State Poet award

Author of The Regional Office is Under Attack!” Manuel Gonzales kicks off the season on Sept. 2, and an introduction to UAlbany’s new AI and Society College and Research Center will close it out on Dec. 2.

Other season highlights include:

• “A Comedy of Childhood” with Edward Hirsch, president of the Guggenheim Foundation on Sept. 4

• “50 Years On: The Afterlife of the Vietnam War” with poets Cathy Linh Che and Gerald McCarthy on Sept. 9

• “The Race to Invent the Future” with Keach Hagey, the biographer behind The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future on Sept. 11

• “Gen Z, Taking Charge” with Amanda Litman, co-founder of the political group Run for Something on Sept. 15

• “Sweet Fiction” with food writers Ruth Reichl and Mark Kurlansky on Oct. 6

• “https://www.nyswritersinstitute.org/agingwithatttitudeAging with Attitude, Style and Sass” with UAlbany alumni Lyn Slater, best known for her @iconaccidental social media accounts, and Sari Botton, creator of Oldster Magazine on Oct. 8

• “Fate, Heartbreak and Desire” with André Aciman, author of Call Me By Your Name, on Oct. 16

• “Incident” film screening with director Bill Morrison and producer Jamie Kalven on Oct. 17

• “The Chinese in America” with Michael Luo, executive editor at The New Yorker, on Oct. 23

• “Exploitation and the Music Industry” with YA novelist Tami Charles on Oct. 29

• “Icon of Conservative Politics” with Sam Tanenhaus, who penned William F. Buckley’s biography, on Nov. 3

  
  

Events are free and open to the public and primarily occur at UAlbany’s uptown campus at 1400 Washington Ave. or its downtown campus at 135 Western Ave., with select exceptions.