Open House for English Majors

The New York State Writers Institute hosted an open house for UAlbany English majors on Wednesday October 5, 2011.  Held in our offices in the Science Library, more than twenty students attended to learn more about our visiting writers series, meet staff and Writing Fellows, and talk with the editors of FENCE/Fence Books.  Each student also received a free copy of one of four titles by visiting writer Ian Frazier, who attended the reception, talked with students, and signed their books. 

Each semester, The NYSWI brings more than a dozen contemporary writers of poetry and fiction, as well as journalists, historians, screenwriters, and scientists to the UAlbany campus for free readings and student-centered seminars.  Simply put, UAlbany students have unprecedented access to many of the most important writers and thinkers of our time.  The October open house is part of an ongoing outreach effort to undergrads to help them discover how the Institute can enhance their academic and personal experience at UAlbany. 

The Writers Institute also wants to discover the types of programs, events, internships and writers UAlbany students would like to see at the Institute.  To that end, students at the open house filled out questionnaires expressing their interests and preferences. (We probably cannot get J.K. Rowling anytime soon, sorry!)  The NYSWI looks forward to greater contact and collaboration with UAlbany students.