NYS Writers Institute announces
the addition of two new staff members

The New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany is pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members. Jennifer Kowalski will join the staff as program coordinator on August 24. Michael Huber will begin on September 7 as communications specialist, which is a new position for the Writers Institute.

Both are University at Albany graduates.

“We are thrilled to have Jennifer and Michael joining our team and we look forward to the energy, experience and expertise they bring,” said Paul Grondahl, director of the Writers Institute. “Jennifer’s background in the publishing industry in New York City and Michael’s broad knowledge of online publishing, social media and reader engagement will help the Writers Institute reach new audiences as we grow and build our brand in the digital space.”

Kowalski worked for the past six years in sales and marketing at Hachette Book Group, a commercial trade book publisher in New York City. Hachette’s imprints include Little, Brown and Company and Perseus. She coordinated author events and the publisher’s presence at national and regional bookseller conferences. Kowalski also managed account marketing efforts for adult and children’s books to independent bookstores nationwide and helped launch the annual Hachette Book Club Brunch event.
Kowalski earned a bachelor’s degree in English at UAlbany and a master’s degree in publishing from Pace University in New York.

Huber most recently served as the Albany Times Union’s interactive audience manager, nurturing connections between the newsroom and its readers. He produced special sections for timesunion.com, managed its email marketing program and blogs network, and built the newspaper's intranet site. Huber began working at the Times Union in 1988 and was involved with the team that launched the timesunion.com web site in 1998.

Since 2008, Huber has been an adjunct professor of journalism at UAlbany. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University College at Geneseo and a master’s degree in history from UAlbany.

Albany native and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist William Kennedy founded the Writers Institute in 1983 and serves as its executive director. The University at Albany has funded and housed the Writers Institute since its creation through legislation signed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and the state Legislature. It is one of America’s premiere organizations for promoting the art of the written word and celebrating literature, writing, performance and filmmaking. It has fostered a far-reaching community of writers and hosts authors from around the world.