{"id":854763,"date":"2026-09-20T22:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T22:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854763\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T22:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T22:20:16","slug":"saratoga-book-festival-to-return-next-month-saratogian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/854763\/","title":{"rendered":"Saratoga Book Festival to return next month \u2013 Saratogian"},"content":{"rendered":"

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. \u2014 The Saratoga Book Festival will return to the Spa City this October, providing four days of literary programming and events for Book Lovers in the Capital Region to enjoy.<\/p>\n

Running from Thursday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 4, the Festival\u2019s schedule includes not only free programming for every age group and genre-enjoyer, but also will highlight more than 50 authors \u2013 such as Julia Alvarez, Chris Bohjalian, Julia May Jonas, Sigred Nunez and Francine Prose. There is something for everyone, no matter your age, reading level or favorite genre, with programming geared towards history, horror, memoir, romantasy, mystery, crime and poetry and more.<\/p>\n

There will be three headlining events throughout the weekend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, featuring conversations with some of the festival\u2019s featured authors.<\/p>\n

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, during \u2018Chris Bohjalian in Conversation with Joe Donahue,\u2019 #1 New York Times bestselling author Bohjalian will talk about his latest blockbuster \u2018The Amateur,\u2019 and at 11 a.m. during \u2018Julia Alvarez in Conversation with Rachel Person,\u2019 Alvarez, who was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama, will read from her new book \u2018Visitations and discuss her career as a writer, poet, and teacher. Both of Saturday\u2019s Headline Events will take place at Universal Preservation Hall, located at 25 Washington St.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s Headline Event, \u2018Skidmore College Presents Joan Lunden in conversation with Julie Chapman\u2019, will take place at 10 a.m. in the Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College. The event will feature award-winning journalist, bestselling author, and longtime Good Morning America host Joan Lunden for a conversation about her newest book, \u2018Joan: Life Beyond the Script.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kicking off the four-day festival will be a Keynote delivered by author, comedian, and actor Eric Idle, which will take place at Universal Preservation Hall at 7 p.m. on Thursday. During the event, Idle will talk about his new memoir, \u2018Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme.\u2019 This is the only ticketed event of the weekend, and those wanting to attend can purchase tickets through the Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Friday will include the return of the Saratoga Book Festival\u2019s Literary Night Market and Local Author Showcase at Universal Preservation Hall, providing readers the chance to interact with and buy directly from more than 70 local authors and literary-themed vendors. The event is free to attend, and there will also be live music, light bites and a cash bar.<\/p>\n

For those with younger readers in their life looking to enjoy the festival, Sunday\u2019s schedule features a free Literary Marketplace for Young Readers from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at The Children\u2019s Museum at Saratoga, located at 65 S Broadway. The afternoon will include crafts, stories, magic, and mascots as well as more than 40 local authors, vendors and exhibitors.<\/p>\n

Events will be taking place at a variety of downtown Saratoga Springs locations. Along with Universal Preservation Hall, Skidmore and the Children\u2019s Museum, locations include Caffe Lena, the Saratoga Springs Public Library and Saratoga Arts.<\/p>\n

For more information about the festival and its programming, visit https:\/\/friends.sspl.org\/book-festival\/.<\/p>\n

Full Session Schedule:<\/p>\n

Saturday, October 3rd (All events are free)<\/p>\n

9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. \u2013 Devising and Revising Poetry Workshop: Jay Rogoff & Marilyn McCabe (Saratoga Springs Public Library)<\/p>\n

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. \u2013 HEADLINE EVENT: Chris Bohjalian in Conversation with Joe Donahue (Universal Preservation Hall).<\/p>\n

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. \u2013\u00a0 HEADLINE EVENT: Julia Alvarez in Conversation with Rachel Person (Universal Preservation Hall).<\/p>\n

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. \u2013 Romantasy Tea with Mai Corland and Lauren Blackwood. Moderated by Caitlin Sheldon (Caffe Lena).<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. \u2013 Francine Prose in Conversation with Halimah Marcus (Caffe Lena)<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. \u2013 Sapphic Second Acts: Kate Fagan, Kim Van Alkemade & Kayla Rae Whitaker with Beck Krefting. (Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. \u2013 Horror panel with Clay McLeod Chapman, Paul Tremblay, Christoph Paul & Saratoga Schaefer. Moderated by Trevor Oakley (Saratoga Springs Public Library).<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. \u2013 John Searles and Jonathan Santlofer in Conversation with Ellen Beal. (Caffe Lena)<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m \u2013 Family of Spies: A True World War II Story of Espionage and Betrayal with Christine Kuehn & Mark Schiponi. Moderated by Matt Witten (Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. \u2013 Confronting Looming Catastrophes in Speculative Fiction: Isabel J. Kim (Sublimation) & Yume Kitasei (Saltcrop). Moderated by author Robert Repino (Saratoga Springs Public Library).<\/p>\n

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. \u2013 Crime Fiction Happy Hour: Nic DiDomizio and Ashley Winstead in Conversation with Abby Tegnelia. (Universal Preservation Hall).<\/p>\n

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. \u2013 The Art of the Short Story: Sigrid Nunez & Mark Mayer with Robert Boyers (Caffe Lena)<\/p>\n

4 p.m. to 5 p.m. \u2013 Vladimir: Page to Screen Julia May Jonas in conversation with Kim van Alkemade about her debut novel that inspired the Netflix series. (Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. \u2013 Where the Music Had to Go: How Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other\u2015and the World. (Saratoga Arts<\/p>\n

Sunday, October 4th (All events are free)<\/p>\n

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. \u2013 Crosswords & Coffee Chandi Deitmer, Kate Hawkins & Erica Wojcik with Natalie Moore.(Universal Preservation Hall)<\/p>\n

10 a.m. to\u00a0 11 a.m. \u2013 Joan Lunden in Conversation with Julie Chapman. (Zankel Auditorium, Skidmore College).<\/p>\n

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. \u2013 Romance Panel with Jennifer Iacopelli & Elizabeth Everett. Author Donna Marchetti moderates. (Universal Preservation Hall)<\/p>\n

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. \u2013 Murder Mystery book chat with Ashley Winstead & Jonathan Santlofer. Author Joshilyn Jackson moderates. (Saratoga Arts).<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. \u2013 Political Appetites: A Culinary History of America\u2019s Revolution (Universal Preservation Hall).<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to\u00a0 2 p.m. \u2013 Writing Crime Fiction: A Conversation with Authors Joshilyn Jackson & Matt Witten (Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to 2 p.m. \u2013 Writing Memoir Cara Benson & Paul Taylor with Author Pat Nugent (Saratoga Springs Public Library)<\/p>\n

1 p.m. to\u00a0 4 p.m. \u2013 The KidZone at The Children\u2019s Museum at Saratoga<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. to\u00a0 3:30 p.m.\u2013 Parks & Rec: The Feel Good Comedy That Inspired a Vision for a Better America. Author and Pop Culture Guru Jennifer Keishin Armstrong joins Ellen Beal in a book chat. (Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. to 3:3- p.m. \u2013 I Could Write a Book Workshop with Tamani Wooley, John Oliver & David Wilson (Saratoga Springs Public Library)<\/p>\n

4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. \u2013 SBF Concluding Event: Poets Carol Graser, Elaine Handley, and Lucyna Prostko read from their new poetry collections. Hosted by Saratoga Poet Laureate Jay Rogoff.(Saratoga Arts)<\/p>\n

\"FromFrom Left to right: John Safford, Ellen Beal, Steve Rosenblum, Jennifer Allen, Phil Bayly, Catherine Bruns and Matt Witten at the 2024 Saratoga Book Festival kickoff event. (Emma Ralls – Medianews Group)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. \u2014 The Saratoga Book Festival will return to the Spa City this October, providing four…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[223,88,2558,983,361009,248378],"class_list":["post-854763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-entertainment","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-saratoga-book-fest","tag-saratoga-springs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}