Four weeks of readings and special events coming to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs starting Monday, June 24
Since its inception in 1987, the NYS Summer Writers Institute has attracted award-winning writers and enthusiastic audiences to its summer home at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
The 37th annual summer season kicks off on Monday, June 24, with journalist and novelist Cristina García (fiction) and poet Megan Fernandes.
Special events this summer include Phillip Lopate and Elizabeth Benedict on Wednesday, June 26; an evening of "Poetry & Jazz" at Caffe Lena with Robert Pinsky, Todd Coolman, Bill Cunliffe and Pat LaBarbera at Caffe Lena, on Friday, July 5; Joyce Carol Oates and Henri Cole on Monday, July 8; movie screenings and discussions; a tribute to Nobel Prize-winning poet Louise Glück (1943-2023) on Friday, July 12; and a reading with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and NYS Writers Institute founder William Kennedy and award-winning poet Chase Twichell on Wednesday, July 17.
The New York State Summer Writers Institute, an extension of the NYS Writers Institute, is led by directors Robert Boyers, longtime professor at Skidmore and editor of the Salmagundi literary magazine. and Adam Braver, author of several historical novels including Divine Sarah, Mr. Lincoln’s Wars and Crows Over The Wheatfield.
Except where noted, the readings are free and open to the public and begin at 8 p.m. on the Skidmore College campus, 815 North Broadway in Saratoga Springs. Events are coordinated with Skidmore's Office of Special Programs.
Week 1
8 p.m. Monday June 24
Cristina García (fiction)
Megan Fernandes (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Tuesday June 25
Margot Livesey (fiction)
Daniel Torday (fiction)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Wednesday June 26
Phillip Lopate (non-fiction)
Elizabeth Benedict (fiction)
Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs.
Ticketed event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-phillip-lopate-and-elizabeth-benedict-tickets-903554143767
8 p.m. Thursday June 27
Honor Moore (memoir)
Rosanna Warren (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Friday June 28
New York Times columnist John McWhorter in conversation w/ Bob Boyers Davis Auditorium
6:30 p.m. Saturday June 29
Film screening of “Leon Morin, Priest” followed by a discussion with Phillip Lopate at 8:30 p.m.
Davis Auditorium
3 p.m. Sunday June 30
Student readings
Davis Auditorium
Week 2
8 p.m. Monday July 1
James Hannaham (fiction)
Richard Blanco (poetry)
Reading, Davis Auditorium
8 p.m. Tuesday July 2
Francine Prose (fiction)
Campbell McGrath (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Wednesday July 3
Elisa Gonzalez (poetry)
Vinson Cunningham (fiction)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Thursday July 4
Jenny Offill (fiction)
April Bernard (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Friday July 5
Poetry & Jazz: An Evening with Robert Pinsky, Todd Coolman, Bill Cunliffe and Pat LaBarbera
Caffe Lena. Ticketed event.
Week 3
8 p.m. Monday July 8
Joyce Carol Oates (fiction)
Henri Cole (poetry)
Reading, Gannett Auditorium
8 p.m. Tuesday July 9
Mary Gaitskill (fiction)
Amy Hempel (fiction)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Wednesday July 10
Jerald Walker (non-fiction)
Sandra Lim (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Thursday July 11
Rick Moody (fiction)
Adam Braver (fiction)
Reading at Caffe Lena*
8 p.m. Friday July 12
Louise Gluck Memorial:
Henri Cole, Kathryn Davis, and Peg Boyers,
Dining Hall (upstairs)
6:30 p.m. Saturday July 13:
Film screening of Luchino Visconti’s 1971 film adaptation of Thomas Mann's Death In Venice followed
by a discussion,
Davis Auditorium
3 p.m. Sunday July 14
Student readings, Davis Auditorium
Week 4
8 p.m. Monday July 15
Thomas Chatterton Williams (memoir)
Peg Boyers (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Tuesday July 16
Paul Harding (fiction)
Karan Mahajan (fiction)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Wednesday July 17
William Kennedy (fiction)
Chase Twichell (poetry)
Reading, Dining Hall (upstairs)
8 p.m. Thursday July 18
Caryl Phillips (fiction)
Binnie Kirshenbaum (fiction) Reading at Caffe Lena.
Ticketed event: https://www.caffelena.org/events/month/2024-07/
8 p.m. Friday July 19
Panel on the 2024 Presidential Election with:
poet Tom Healy and
historians Jennifer Delton and Beau Breslin
Gannett Auditorium