Photo Gallery: Eighth Annual Albany Book Festival
ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 30, 2025) — The New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany hosted the 8th Annual Albany Book Festival on Saturday, Sept. 27, welcoming a multitude of readers to campus for a daylong celebration of books and ideas.
This year’s festival opened with the installation of New York State Author Min Jin Lee and New York State Poet Kimiko Hahn on Sept. 26.
Lee, author of the acclaimed novels Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko—a National Book Award finalist—immigrated to Queens as a child and has built an internationally recognized career exploring themes of immigration, family and identity.
Hahn, a Westchester County native and author of 10 poetry collections including The Ghost Forest and Toxic Flora, is a distinguished professor at Queens College, CUNY. She is the recipient of numerous honors including the American Book Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Ruth Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award.
This year’s book festival included a distinguished lineup of award-winning, bestselling and regional authors and poets, including Debbie Millman, Roxane Gay, Russell Shorto, Megan Abbott and John McWhorter, among many others.