Paul Grondahl

027f98_46ac7da799f942a68d39961622c819aa_

CENTER FOR THE LITERARY ARTS

IN NEW YORK STATE

Sign up for email updates

Since 1983, more than 2,000 world-renowned writers, poets, newsmakers, and filmmakers have visited the NYS Writers Institute at the University at Albany. Our annual Albany Book Festival and Albany Film Festival events bring culture and community engagement to the University at Albany campus.

Join more than 4,000 book lovers who've already signed up for our email newsletters!

Sign up for email updates

114 years after putting an African man on display in its Monkey House, zoo issues apology

NYS Writers Institute

Jul 31, 2020
2 min

114 years after putting an African man on display in its Monkey House, zoo issues apology

Paul Grondahl discusses this breaking news story with two-time Writers Institute guest Pamela Newkirk, author of Spectacle: The...

Video interview: Dennis Mahoney, author of "Ghostlove"

NYS Writers Institute

Jun 16, 2020
1 min

Video interview: Dennis Mahoney, author of "Ghostlove"

NYS Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl talks with author Dennis Mahoney, whose newest novel Ghostlove recently received a positive...

Times Union Editor Casey Seiler: "A remarkable week"

NYS Writers Institute

Jun 10, 2020
1 min

Times Union Editor Casey Seiler: "A remarkable week"

NYS Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl talked with Times Union (Hearst Newspapers) Editor and Vice President Casey Seiler last...

Soul singer/songwriter Bryan "Professor Buggy Jive" Thomas

NYS Writers Institute

Jun 8, 2020
1 min

Soul singer/songwriter Bryan "Professor Buggy Jive" Thomas

In today's post, Paul Grondahl interviews soul singer/songwriter Bryan "Professor Buggy Jive" Thomas. (Editor's note: The interview was...

"March On!" with Lucy and Grace Lang

NYS Writers Institute

Jun 4, 2020
1 min

"March On!" with Lucy and Grace Lang

In this new #indiebookstoreboost post, WAMC Northeast Public Radio's Joe Donahue and NYS Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl talk...

Alice Green & Leon Van Dyke: Fighting injustice and racism since the 1960s

NYS Writers Institute

Jun 3, 2020
1 min

Alice Green & Leon Van Dyke: Fighting injustice and racism since the 1960s

"Have we really had any change here in this country?" Dr. Alice Green In today's post, NYS Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl talks...

Catching up with writer and UAlbany alumnus Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

NYS Writers Institute

May 28, 2020
1 min

Catching up with writer and UAlbany alumnus Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Acclaimed fiction writer and UAlbany alumnus Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah talks about his mother's struggle with COVID-19 and the...

A conversation with Writers Institute founder and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Kennedy

NYS Writers Institute

May 27, 2020
1 min

A conversation with Writers Institute founder and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Kennedy

Over the course of one hour, ten minutes and a couple glasses of wine, Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl enjoyed a leisurely...

NYS Writers Hall of Fame induction ceremony postponed to 2021

NYS Writers Institute

May 26, 2020
5 min

NYS Writers Hall of Fame induction ceremony postponed to 2021

After discussion among its leadership and a commitment to protecting the health and safety of everyone involved during the coronavirus...

Madeline Miller, international bestselling author of "Circe" and "The Song of Achilles"

NYS Writers Institute

May 20, 2020
2 min

Madeline Miller, international bestselling author of "Circe" and "The Song of Achilles"

A conversation with Madeline Miller, international bestselling author of Circe and The Song of Achilles, about re-imaging mythology and...

Words of advice for the Class of 2020

NYS Writers Institute

May 18, 2020
11 min

Words of advice for the Class of 2020

Recognizing that commencement ceremonies for colleges -- and high schools -- have been cancelled across the country, we asked a selection...

Poetry in the age of coronavirus, with NYS Poet Alicia Ostriker

NYS Writers Institute

May 15, 2020
1 min

Poetry in the age of coronavirus, with NYS Poet Alicia Ostriker

NYS Poet Alicia Ostriker talks with NYS Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl about poetry in the age of coronavirus and her own...

How are college students coping in a time of pandemic?

NYS Writers Institute

May 6, 2020
1 min

How are college students coping in a time of pandemic?

University at Albany Distinguished Professor Dr. Jeffrey Berman helps students express, discuss grief, trauma and loss in his English...

"Living in the Long Emergency" interview with James Howard Kunstler

NYS Writers Institute

May 1, 2020
2 min

"Living in the Long Emergency" interview with James Howard Kunstler

An #indiebookstoreboost post to support independent bookstores in the Capital Region during the time of coronavirus An...

Video: Gregory Maguire, author of "Wicked," interviewed by Paul Grondahl

NYS Writers Institute

Apr 29, 2020
1 min

Video: Gregory Maguire, author of "Wicked," interviewed by Paul Grondahl

Just a pair of UAlbany alumni sitting down for a conversation... New York State Writers Institute director Paul Grondahl (M.A. in...

Joining forces to support the Capital Region’s indie bookstores with #IndieBookstoreBoost

NYS Writers Institute

Apr 28, 2020
2 min

Joining forces to support the Capital Region’s indie bookstores with #IndieBookstoreBoost

#IndieBookstoreBoost Independent bookstores are communal gathering places that are central to a vibrant village, town or city. They are...

Talking Teddy with novelist Jerome Charyn

NYS Writers Institute

Apr 8, 2020
2 min

Talking Teddy with novelist Jerome Charyn

We were disappointed these COVID-19 protocols forced us to postpone the April 2 Writers Institute event with Jerome Charyn, author of...

Catching up with sportswriter Rick Reilly

NYS Writers Institute

Apr 6, 2020
2 min

Catching up with sportswriter Rick Reilly

We emailed Rick Reilly to find out what he's up to since he visited us in February. One of America’s preeminent sportswriters, Rick was...

Dispatches from 'solitary confinement' in a local nursing home

NYS Writers Institute

Mar 26, 2020
5 min

Dispatches from 'solitary confinement' in a local nursing home

Donald Black, 97-year-old World War II vet and Writers Institute contributor, contemplates the coronavirus pandemic in isolation in a...

Message from Paul Grondahl

NYS Writers Institute

Mar 13, 2020
2 min

Message from Paul Grondahl

The New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany is postponing its inaugural Albany Film Festival, scheduled for March...