We’re going to have to do things a little differently this year. We have pivoted to a Virtual Writers Institute for our entire fall programming, with everything offered online, starting with our Albany Book Festival September 10-24.
The health and safety of everyone involved is paramount. Covid-19 protocols dictate it is not possible to come together in large gatherings on the UAlbany campus as in previous years.
We are inspired to make this year’s virtual Albany Book Festival the best experience possible with engrossing pre-recorded conversations with amazing authors, including Edwidge Danticat, Noam Chomsky, Gish Jen, Colum McCann and Sister Helen Prejean. It is a lineup that reinforces our commitment to diversity and inclusion and offering voices across the spectrum.
The coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented and troubling time. But let us not forget that books possess a transformative power, perhaps more so during lockdowns and quarantine. Books can open our hearts. Books can change our minds. Books transport us to places and times and situations we would never be able to visit ourselves. Books deepen our empathy and help us imagine and respect the other.
Let us focus on what this fall’s Virtual Albany Book Festival offers all of us, be thankful for this opportunity, and hope that the fourth annual edition will be back on campus and in-person.
Happy reading,
Paul Grondahl, Director NYS Writers Institute
